In Saturday’s 1-1 tie with the visiting New York Red Bulls, the San Jose Earthquakes survived a red card for DeJuan Jones and were helped by an own goal by Mohammed Sofo.
San Jose (7-7-7, 28 points) equalized in the 58th minute thanks to a mistake by Sofo, but the Earthquakes were down to 10 players six minutes later as Jones was given his second card of the game.
Although they didn’t score much when they had the man advantage, the Red Bulls (8-7-6, 30 points) had a close offsides call in the 83rd minute that cost them a goal. To the dismay of New York, the official’s decision stood after a video review, as Sean Nealis’ header was waved off after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was deemed to be just offside.
The Red Bulls, who are winless (0-1-3) in their last four games, only managed one goal through Emil Forsberg. In 11 road games during the regular season, the Red Bulls are just 1-6-4.
San Jose is on a four-game (1-0-3) winning streak after going 4-1-6 in its previous 11 games.
Forsberg took a feed from Peter Stroud in the box and went to work in the 19th minute. In order to score his seventh goal of the season, Forsberg had to quickly navigate among three San Jose players, create space for himself, and then shoot the final shot.
Second Half
Early in the second half, the Earthquakes had a couple solid chances to equalize, but Sofo’s unintentional goal in the 58th minute was the game-winning goal. Vitor Costa was already heading for the open net when Sofo deflected a perfectly placed cross from Cristian Espinoza.
Jones was taken off the field just when it appeared that San Jose had recovered their momentum. Jones’ risky tackle on Stroud earned him his first booking in the 54th minute and his second yellow card in the 64th.
Raheem Edwards, a defender for New York, was sent off for bad sportsmanship in the 87th minute while on the replacement bench.
The Earthquakes have only lost one of their previous ten MLS games, placing them sixth in the Western Conference.
Arena’s team will next play the New York Red Bulls, who have lost their previous three games (D2 L1) and are currently ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference.
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