Injury Time Winner Gives San Jose Dramatic Win Over KC

A Chris Wondolowski goal in the 93rd minute separated the SJ Earthquakes and three points from the KC Wizards.

Aug 23, 2009 5:59:47 PM

More On : San Jose, Sporting Kansas City

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--The San Jose Earthquakes topped Kansas City with a dramatic late finish deep into stoppage time. Substitute Chris Wondolowski had been on the pitch ten minutes when he headed home the match winner, earning all three points for San Jose. It was just the 'Quakes' fifth win of the season, but kept alive playoff hopes.

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These two teams hadn’t met in more than four months. In that first fixture, the Wizards came away with a 2-0 home victory. Coming into this match, the Earthquakes had two weeks off to regroup after a 0-3 home loss to the Columbus Crew. For their part, Kansas City were winless in their last six MLS matches, and were outscored 10-1 in those games.

Kansas City had a very recent coaching change, with interim coach Peter Vermes overseeing just the second game of his tenure.

First Half

San Jose coach Frank Yallop continued to tinker with his lineup, and this time out tried the forward pairing of Cornell Glen and Arturo Alvarez. The decision proved clever, as the duo worked well together and looked very threatening early on. The Earthquakes kept the Wizards on the defensive through much of the first half.

Just two minutes in, Kansas City’s goalkeeper, Kevin Hartman, collided with his own defender, Jimmy Conrad, while coming out to snag a high ball before Glen could get to it. The ball fell to Glen, who then chipped it over Hartman and into the net. However, the official had already blown his whistle, deeming Glen to have committed a foul. The goal was disallowed.

Kansas City created their first chance in the fifth minute, when left wing Claudio Lopez got in behind San Jose’s defense. Earthquakes’ goalkeeper Joe Cannon went to ground to make the stop.

Almost ten minutes in, Glen again chipped the ball toward the net, but Hartman did very well to get across the goal and make a save with his fingertips.

In the 22nd minute, San Jose had a free kick just outside the 18-yard box on the right. Fullback Bobby Convey took a short kick, passing it back to teammate Shea Salinas. The winger drilled in a powerful shot, but his effort flew high over the crossbar.

On the half hour mark, Glen used his skill to send a beautiful pass through the Kansas City backline and into Alvarez’s path. Alvarez ran onto the ball and fired off a left-footed shot, just missing the target.

The Wizards created a goal-scoring opportunity in the 38th minute. A deft pass from the midfield sliced between two San Jose defenders and reached midfielder Jack Jewsbury. He went one-on-one with Cannon, who did very well to get low and block the shot.

Despite a very bright first half for the Earthquakes, the score remained 0-0 going into the break.

Second Half

As the second half got underway, San Jose appeared to have lost a bit of their earlier intensity. Kansas City stepped up their efforts somewhat, but neither team really sparkled for the bulk of the last forty-five minutes.

It wasn’t until about five minutes before the end of regulation time that things began to heat up again.

In the 86th minute, Kansas City earned a free kick off an Alvarez foul on Santiago Hirsig. Jewsbury got his foot on the resulting kick into the box, and Cannon had to go to ground to make the save.

Seconds later, the Earthquakes launched a quick counterattack. Wizards forward Davy Arnaud fouled Alvarez to stop the play about 30 yards out. Convey took the free kick, sending a dangerous effort toward goal that just missed the target, going inches above the crossbar.

Two minutes into stoppage time, Kansas City’s Josh Wolff dribbled into the box and tried to pass off to a teammate. The ball deflected off San Jose center back Jason Hernandez and flew toward goal. Cannon did his job again as he grabbed the ball before it crossed the line.

As an aside, despite one or two glitches, San Jose’s usually leaky defense looked very solid all night with this pairing of Brandon McDonald with Hernandez. McDonald in particular made several timely tackles.

With a minute left to go, the Earthquakes got their dream finish with a last minute game-winning goal. The play started on the left flank with Convey, who dropped the ball down the line to Ramiro Corrales. The team captain whipped a cross into the box, and Wondolowski stepped in front of his defender to win the header. The ball sailed just inside the far post, and though Hartman hurled himself across the goal, he could not make the save.

Kansas City had one more chance net a goal when Herculez Gomez curled in a dangerous shot. Cannon jumped for the ball and missed, but was lucky to see it go just wide of the right post.

At the final whistle, San Jose claimed the victory with a 1-0 score line.

"I thought we showed real good heart tonight, we tried hard," said San Jose coach Frank Yallop. "In this league, you put every ounce of effort into every play. I thought we did that tonight. We wanted to win the game, and it showed."

"Mentally, I've always pictured this happening," said goal scorer Chris Wondolowski. "But I don't think it could happen any better. You always dream of getting those last-minute goals, and fortunately I was able to get that."

"The guys competed for every ball," said Kansas City coach Peter Vermes. "I'm proud of our guys, I'm just disappointed for them because I think we deserved a point."

For their next match, the San Jose Earthquakes (5-11-5, 20 pts) will go on the road to face the New England Revolution next weekend. Kansas City (5-9-6, 21 pts) return home and host Real Salt Lake.

Jennifer Dawson, Goal.com

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