If the match could have been stopped after 22 minutes then the San Jose Earthquakes would have been golden. They were leading 1-0 and still had 11 men on the field. By the time the match came to a close they had been dealt a 2-1 loss and had played 40 minutes down a man. It was just another day of the continuing nightmare that is the Earthquakes season right now as they remain winless since June 11.
San Jose Earthquakes Vs. Colorado Rapids: 10-Man Quakes Fall 2-1
Joey Gjertsen put San Jose on top after 22 minutes, although he didn't have to do too much work to get the goal. A great low cross found Chris Wondolowski, who just barely deflected the ball for what looked like a goal until Matt Pickens made a great save of it. Unfortunately for Pickens, the save left the ball right in front for Gjersten to easily finish and put the home side in front, 1-0.
Sam Cronin's nightmare day began in the 37th minute when he slid to attempt to block a cross. The problem is that the low cross clipped his trailing arm on the way by and the referee consulted with his assistant before correctly pointing to the spot for the penalty. Caleb Folan stepped up and drilled the spot kick, leveling the match at a goal apiece.
Just five minutes after the break, Cronin’s day got worse and came to an end all at once, although it’s tough to blame Cronin for this one. He went in to try and win a 50/50 ball, but he got there just a hair late. He did go in awkwardly, but there wasn’t much contact, it wasn’t with the studs and he wasn’t horribly late. Even so, the referee remarkably saw fit to send Cronin off and the Quakes were down to 10 men.
It took until the 72nd minute before the Rapids took advantage of their man advantage. They got a free kick from 25 yards, which was left for Jeff Larentowicz. The red head hit it low and Jon Busch was blinded by his own wall as the shot just barely squeaked in for the winning goal.
The Earthquakes will feel cheated by the referee’s awful decision to send Cronin off. Their dominance of the first half hour should have also resulted in more than one goal, but when you are winless in more than two months it is wrong to blame luck or the referee. The simple fact is that the Quakes aren’t getting the job done right now. Colorado is happy to get three points though and put four points between them and fifth place Salt Lake, although Real does have four matches in hand.
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