The Montreal Impact defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on Wednesday night at Stade Saputo. The win strengthens Montreal‘s playoff push in the East while dooming San Jose‘s season in the West.
Montreal Impact Defeat San Jose Earthquakes
The Good
If you like drinking, the San Jose Earthquakes are a great team to help you drown your sorrows.
Forward/Captain Chris Wondolowski scored his 11th goal of the season. Wondo finished with six shots, three of which were on target, and a key pass to go along with San Jose’s lone goal.
The Bad
In their previous two “must win” games, the Quakes defense has allowed five total goals. Whatever magic the Quakes defense had at the beginning of the season appears to have dissipated. With an aging corps of center-backs–including Victor Bernardez, Clarence Goodson, Andres Imperiale, and Marvell Wynne, all of whom are on the wrong side of 30–the Quakes must now look for young replacements this off-season. And if that was not bad enough…
Wondolowski missed a penalty kick for the second time this season. If converted, the goal would have equalized the game and possibly galvanized a Quakes team to a critical road win. Instead, the Quakes conceded a third goal in stoppage time. Wondo had been perfect in 2015, but his second miss may be revealing chinks in his armor. The Quakes could be in the market for goal-scoring replacement for the 34-year-old captain who appears to be in the twilight of his career.
The Ugly
The Darwin Ceren/Matias Perez Garcia trade may turn out to be a disaster. In terms of minutes, the Ceren/Perez Garcia trade appears to be great for San Jose; Ceren is putting in minutes with San Jose whereas Perez Garcia was mostly playing off the bench. However, with the arrival of Ceren, the Quakes stagnant offense has become even more ineffective. Prior to the trade, the Quakes had 23 goals in 21 games, for a 1.10 goals per game average. After the trade, the Quakes have scored just six goals in nine games for a 0.66 goals per game average. Furthermore, the Quakes defense is performing worse with Ceren on the pitch. Prior to the trade, the Quakes allowed 24 goals in 21 games for a 1.14 goals against average. Since Ceren’s arrival, the Quakes have allowed 11 goals in nine games for a 1.22 goals against average. Ceren’s trade may have stalled an already suspect Quakes offense and weakened a normally reliable Quakes defense.
The Quakes could finish last for the second time in four seasons. With the Houston Dynamo “parting ways” with former head coach Owen Coyle, Dynamo head coach Wade Barrett appears to have Houston back to winning ways. In their previous seven games, Houston has earned 12 points, including defeating San Jose 2-1 at Avaya Stadium. By comparison, the Quakes have earned just three points in their previous seven. As of Wednesday’s loss, Houston is just two points back of San Jose. Don’t be surprised if Earthquakes head coach Dom Kinnear gets the ax prior to the season’s end.
The Quakes next game is against Real Salt Lake in Avaya Stadium at 7:30pm PDT on Saturday.
