Photo: San Jose Earthquakes
SAN JOSE, Calif. — When forward Jeremy Ebobisse found the equalizer in the 75th minute on Wednesday against the LA Galaxy, the San Jose Earthquakes appeared to be moments away from practically securing their trip to the Leagues Cup knockout stage.
But continuing a theme present all season, San Jose (0-1-1, 2 points) collapsed in the dying minutes, allowing the Galaxy (1-0-0, 3 points) to gain a crucial 2-1 victory at PayPal Park. With the three-point result, the Galaxy now control the Quakes’ destiny of making it out of the group stage.
The Earthquakes’ offense came out aggressive to start the match, pressing the Galaxy’s defenders and creating chances. San Jose struggled to develop quality shot attempts, however, settling on firing from deep outside the 18-yard box on multiple occasions.
LA’s potent offense attempted to wreak havoc on goalkeeper William Yarbrough, who returned to action after having the game off against Chivas (0-0-1, 1 point). While he made some remarkable saves early on, in the 41st minute, Galaxy midfielder Diego Fagúndez curled a shot — from the top of the box — past Yarbrough’s reach to give LA the edge heading into the break.
In the second half, the Quakes came out quiet to begin the frame but finally caught a break in the 75th minute. San Jose’s counter-press worked to perfection; midfielder Jackson Yueill intercepted an off-mark Galaxy pass, and found midfielder Carlos Gruezo in transition, who then found the open Ebobisse for the score.
Ebobisse’s goal was his second in Leagues Cup, allowing San Jose to shift to a more defensive-minded approach to limit LA’s attack — to hopefully reach penalty kicks and secure a positive result. Interim head coach Ian Russell even placed five defenders in the back, longing for a sound ending.
“We felt pretty confident once we scored,” Russell said. “We pressed really well on that goal … [Ebobisse] is really looking sharp.”
But in the 89th minute, the Quakes’ hopes were shattered when forward Miguel Berry scored on a textbook passing sequence to give LA the one-goal advantage yet again. Midfielder Riqui Puig set up the play, firing a diagonal cross to defender Miki Yamane, who found Berry in stride for the heartbreaker.
The Galaxy’s win was their fourth over the Earthquakes this season, continuing their dominance over a San Jose squad that only won two matches in July.
“This one really hurts,” Russell said. “Especially because it was so late in the game and we had just scored.”
On an evening in which San Jose could’ve qualified for a top-two spot in the West 2 group with a shootout win — or become close to securing a ticket to the knockout stage with a shootout loss, contingent on the upcoming weekend’s results — the Quakes couldn’t put the game away.
Now, San Jose will have to rely on the Galaxy — who have officially qualified for the next round — to decide its fate. If LA defeats Chivas on Sunday, in regulation or a shootout, San Jose will clinch the second spot in the group, securing advancement in the tournament.
If the Galaxy lose, however, San Jose will be out. Other than knockout round seeding purposes, LA has no benefit to winning on Sunday since it is guaranteed to move on, while Chivas will be fighting to stay alive in Leagues Cup.
“Every point matters, and it’s 100% our responsibility for not closing out this game,” Yarbrough said. “You can feel the improvement, you can see it on the field.”
Despite the loss, San Jose should be satisfied with Ebobisse’s recent play. The 27-year-old’s two Leagues Cup goals were his first since May 25, as he appears to be significantly more involved in the team’s offensive layout lately.
The Quakes’ counter-press propelled attacking momentum throughout the match, and especially in the first half, but couldn’t transition to stopping LA’s show-stopping finishing ability.
“When your season’s at the margins and we find ourselves where we were tonight, you don’t really get to have that lapse,” said Ebobisse. “But we’ll see what happens, I’m optimistic.”
San Jose’s prime chance to prove itself in Leagues Cup amid a lost regular season is now in jeopardy. Quakes fans will surely be cheering for the Galaxy to defeat Chivas and provide San Jose with a crucial lifeline on Sunday.
Kasey Kazliner is an undergraduate sports broadcaster at USC. He covers a variety of sports, but particularly loves analyzing the Quakes’ prospect pipeline. He is The Town FC’s official beat writer and covers every match for the club. You can follow him on Twitter here.
