Almeyda Ejected as 10 man San Jose Collapse Versus Atlanta United
San Jose lost a hectic game to the hands of Atlanta United Saturday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, going down 3-1 in a match where they saw 2 players and their coach sent off. Atlanta, snatching all three points, keep pace for a top seat in the Eastern Conference while the Earthquakes cling on to a playoff spot in the compact Western Conference.
Atlanta would win the game with two late second-half goals leaving the Quakes with no time to respond. The go-ahead goal came from midfielder Emerson Hyndman in the 90th minute off a swift counter-attack. Gonzalo “Pity” Martinez would add an insurance goal in the 92nd minute to seal a 3-1 win.
Even though San Jose let the game slip late, the match actually looked to be heading toward a 1-1 draw after both teams traded first-half goals. Atlanta wing back, Justin Meram, opened the scoring early on in the 4th minute on a deflected strike that sailed past Daniel Vega.
Come the 27th minute, San Jose would equalize on a Cristian Espinoza cross that ricocheted off Brad Guzan and into the net. This chance would come off a Daniel Vega goal kick that caught the Atlanta defense sleeping. San Jose looked to have taken back control.
The match went into the half tied up at 1-1 as the Earthquakes controlled the tempo and held the Atlanta attack at bay. Josef Martinez going down with an apparent knee injury in the second half did not help Atlanta’s chances to claim all three points. The star striker had to be removed by a stretcher in the 79th minute, ending his goalscoring streak at 15 games.
San Jose would have complications of their own as they played the majority of the match down a man. Cristian Espinoza was shown a second yellow card and subsequent red in the 34th minute after stomping on an Atlanta player. The ejections for San Jose piled on as head coach Matías Almeyda found himself in trouble with the referee yet again and was sent off deep into the second half. Captain Chris Wondolowski would also be sent off in the 91st minute adding to San Jose’s setbacks ahead of their upcoming game Wednesday versus the formidable Philadelphia Union.
