Two goals in the first 12 minutes, both off set pieces, took much of the air out of the match between the San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo on Saturday night at Robertson Stadium. While Ryan Johnson fought valiantly to try to get the Quakes back into the game, it turned out to be too little, too late for San Jose as the Quakes fell 3-1 to the Houston Dynamo.
"We dug ourselves a big hole and that was our demise," defender Nick Garcia said. "It was just a mental breakdown. We weren't prepared, we weren't ready, and we weren't fighting for that ball."
Johnson agreed with his teammate. "It took [the air out] a lot, because it felt like New York all over again," he said. "We dug a hole for ourselves and we had to try to get out of it."
All three goals conceded by San Jose came on set pieces, with the two in the first 12 minutes coming from forwards breaking away from their marks. Brian Ching's header in the fourth minute and Kei Kamara's header in the 12th minute were followed by a Craig Waibel goal in the 50th minute. Houston makes no secret of their aptitude on set pieces and San Jose thought they had prepared adequately.
"We worked really hard on not conceding on set plays," said Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop. "In the last two games, it's four goals on set pieces so it's tough to take."
Defender Jason Hernandez, who played in his first MLS game this year, agreed with his coach.
"Any team it's tough to swallow, but they are known for good set pieces," said Hernandez. "We talked about it, but it's one thing to talk about it and another to execute in the game."
Perhaps the fiery play from Houston in the first 12 minutes might have been inspired, in part, by the words of Garcia. Garcia provided bulletin board material for Houston forward Kei Kamara and Kamara responded with the game's second goal.
Garcia said after the game that he didn't know whether his comments inspired Houston and he didn't care about Kamara's goal or celebration.
"Nick shouldn't have said anything and he knows that," Yallop said. "We spoke about that."
San Jose can take solace in the inspired play of Johnson. In the 53rd minute, Johnson sacrificed himself for his team, crashing hard into Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron at the far post to get his team's only goal. He also had a second goal called back in the 60th minute that both Johnson and his coach believed was onside.
"Definitely thought I was onside," said Johnson. "I saw Jason setting up for the cross and made sure I was in the space. Don't know what the call was, but it happens."
"Ryan Johnson's second goal was onside and that might have made a difference, but very disappointed in the result," Yallop said. "He works hard and he never gives up. He deserved his goal tonight."
For whatever reason, Johnson seemed to take it upon himself to try to keep his team in the game.
"Our team isn't going to give up," said Johnson. "We have a group of guys fighting for our careers in this league and everyone is fighting."
The good news for the Earthquakes was Hernandez's return to the lineup after a long injury absence. While the team still conceded three goals, Hernandez played well. However, Hernandez did blame himself in part for the team's struggles on deadball situations.
"There were times on set pieces ... where I could have done better and I let my team down," Hernandez said. "Overall though, just trying to take the good with the bad and improve for the next time out."
Yallop was happy to see his young defender back.
"Jason's a good player and we missed him," Yallop said. "He did well tonight."
The loss left the Earthquakes in last place in MLS with five points from nine games, their fourth consecutive loss and the team remains winless in seven games. If the trend continues, the hole the team has built for itself in the standings for the season might be too big to fill, much like the one they created for themselves against the Dynamo.
Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSnet.com
