The San Jose Earthquakes rode an imperious performance from Danny Hoesen to a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake at Avaya Stadium on Saturday night, as the Dutchman scored the Quakes' opener and assisted on Marco Ureña's winner.
On balance it was a convincing victory for the home side. They were made to sweat a bit in the late going, however, after rookie fullback Nick Lima was ejected after his second yellow card.
RSL youngster Jose Hernandez scored a very late consolation goal, his first in MLS. But it was not enough to prevent his club's road woes from deepening: the Utahns are now 1-8-1 away from Rio Tinto Stadium this season.
Goals
Three Things
- DUTCH-TICO DUO: Hoesen and Ureña showed good understanding and smart movement in the Quakes attack, connecting well and carving open space for the likes of Chris Wondolowski and Jahmir Hyka to exploit. A casual observer would hardly have guessed that San Jose's opening goal had snapped a 246-minute scoreless skid.
- PEAKS AND VALLEYS, ROOK: Lima was enjoying the latest in a string of impressive outings at the Quakes' left back slot when he earned a somewhat harsh yellow card in the 67th minute, on his first foul of the game. Four minutes later, his night was suddenly over as he reacted to a poor touch by lunging in on Chris Wingert, his second foul of the game, to draw a second caution and sending-off. It's a reminder of how quickly things can spin out of your control at this level, and a lesson for the rookie Homegrown.
- WHAT TO MAKE OF REAL: Saturday's visitors managed to keep pace with San Jose for most of the night without ever looking like a threat to seize control of the match. In that regard it was a familiar story of frustration for RSL, yet some promising signs peeked out here and there. Jefferson Savarino showed his playmaking qualities, Brooks Lennon continues to do work on the flanks and Justen Glad brought a hard edge to the back line.
Next Up
- SJ: Thursday, June 28 – US Open Cup – vs. Seattle (10:30 pm ET)
- RSL: Friday, June 30 vs. Orlando (9:30 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes in US, MLS LIVE in Canada)
