It looked like nobody was going to able to beat Andy Gruenebaum. The Columbus Crew goalkeeper was incredible and for 89 minutes nobody would have guessed that the San Jose Earthquakes, or any team in the world for that matter, could beat him. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Alan Gordon managed to beat Gruenebaum and salvage a 1-1 draw for the Quakes at Buck Shaw Stadium.
San Jose Earthquakes Vs. Columbus Crew, 2012 MLS: Alan Gordon Earns Quakes A Point
In a match full of weirdness, it was Justin Meram who put the Crew in front and he did it with a dandy of a finish. Merram got the ball at the corner of the 18-yard box and expertly curled a ball into the side netting with a shot that left Jon Busch no chance.
San Jose were disappointed to go down, too, because they had been the better side for the opening half and that continued in the second half. They struggled to create chances even with their better play, but they did get some chances. The problem is that whenever they did, Gruenebaum was there to deny them. He saved a penalty shot by Chris Wondolowski and twice denied Simon Dawkins to keep the Quakes off the board.
Gordon finally beat Gruenebaum in the 90th minute when he took a nice pass from Wondolowski and fired it off the crossbar. The ball bounced back to him, though, and Gordon connected with a fly scissor kick to find the net and get the Quakes a point.
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