It wasn’t clear how long Matias Perez Garcia could play in just his second appearance – and first start – since undergoing knee surgery last month.
As it turned out, Perez Garcia saved his best for last.
With a gorgeous trap followed by a deft assist in the 93rd minute, Perez Garcia helped San Jose salvage a 1-1 tie against Colorado on Saturday. The Argentinean softly brought down a 50-yard free kick before delivering a crafty side-footed pass to tee up former Rapids midfielder Atiba Harris, who slammed home his left-footed shot from 17 yards to help the Quakes stay unbeaten in their last 10 matches against Colorado.
“Matias, he’s an excellent player,” Harris told reporters at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. “That’s why the coaching staff brought him in. He does things that other players don’t do. I was happy to be there in that perfect spot.”
Perez Garcia, playing underneath Chris Wondolowski, helped add some verve to a Quakes attack that had managed only one shot on goal in each of San Jose’s previous two road games. San Jose had five shots on target, along with a few chances that almost caught out far-ranging Rapids goalkeeper Joe Nasco.
“[Perez Garcia] makes us better when he’s on the field,” Quakes coach Mark Watson said. “I thought he had a lot of good moments. We weren’t sure how many minutes he was going to be able to play, but he felt strong. It was nice to have him back.”
After two scoreless draws between the Quakes and Rapids early this season, another such game seemed unlikely given the desperate nature of both sides, each of whom came in on a nine-game winless streak. But there wasn’t a breakthrough until the 84th minute, when Gabriel Torres jammed in a Chris Klute cross at the near post to beat San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch.
That seemed to settle things until Sam Cronin drew a foul well inside the Quakes’ defensive half midway through injury time. Victor Bernardez sent a long ball to the edge of Colorado’s area and Perez Garcia, somehow unmarked, trapped the ball easily to undo the Rapids’ defense.
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“When you go down a goal and you get a late goal in injury time, you like the fight back,” Watson said. “But I think we came in here knowing we needed three points to get closer to the pack and get to where we want to be.”
Indeed, the tie leaves San Jose (6-12-11) 11 points behind fifth-place Vancouver with just five games left to play. Barring a dramatic and immediate turnaround, the Quakes will soon secure a second straight season without a playoff berth.
“It’s always fantastic to score against your old team, to kind of show them what they gave up,” Harris said. “But all in all, it’s kind of disappointing, not getting three points.”
