SAN JOSE, CA - The San Jose Earthquakes dropped a 3-1 decision to the Canadian national team in a match that was abruptly ended in approximately the 75th minute due to a power outage at Spartan Stadium. Former Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop was victorious in his return to San Jose as the head coach of the Canadian Team, as they pushed out to a 3-0 lead before Brian Ching scored for the Quakes to make the final score 3-1.
Canada took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute on a goal from Everton forward Tomasz Radzinski. Julian de Guzman started the play for the Canadians when his shot from the right side from about 20 yards out was blocked by San Jose goalkeeper Jon Conway. However, the ball deflected off Conway and directly to an open Radzinski six yards in front of the San Jose net, where he one-timed the ball past a sprawling Conway to give Canada the early lead that they took into the half-time break.
Canada extended its lead to 2-0 in the 48th minute when Paul Peschisolido stole the ball from San Jose defender Ryan Cochrane on the right side of the field in the penalty area. Peschisolido moved toward the goal and attempted to cross the ball, but Quakes defender Craig Waibel blocked the ball into his own net past Conway for an own goal.
Facing a two-goal deficit, the Quakes started to attack in the 50th minute as Ramiro Corrales received the ball on the right side of the box, but his hard shot from the corner was deflected out of bounds by a sliding Canadian defender. Just a minute later, Corrales trapped down a long throw-in near the Canada six-yard box, but his shot soared over the crossbar.
In the 56th minute Canada pushed its lead to 3-0 when Peschisolido re-directed a hard Julian de Guzman shot past Conway and into the net. De Guzman fired a shot from 18 yards away that hit Peschisolido, who was standing directly in front of Conway. The Canadian striker was able to flick the ball to the left of Conway.
The Earthquakes closed the gap to 3-1 in the 60th minute when Arturo Alvarez dribbled from the left side to the top of the 18-yard box. Surrounded by three Canadian defenders, Alvarez blasted a shot that deflected off the hands of Canada's Kevin McKenna, drawing a penalty kick. San Jose forward Brian Ching slotted the penalty kick to the right of substitute goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld.
In the 61st minute, the game was momentarily halted due to a power outage at Spartan Stadium that also affected surrounding neighborhoods. The teams played on for about 15 more minutes under the rapidly growing dusk until the referee ended the game in approximately the 75th minute, giving Canada the 3-1 win.
The Quakes return to MLS action on Saturday, June 12 when they host the MetroStars at Spartan Stadium at 7:00 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on the radio on 1590 KLIV (English) and 1370 AM KZSF (Spanish). The first 5,000 fans will receive a U.S. Army seat cushion.
Notes:
-Former Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop, the current coach of the Canadian National Team, was presented with his 2003 MLS Cup Championship ring and a commemorative framed photo before the match.
-Quakes forward Landon Donovan will travel on Sunday to join the U.S. National Team in Columbus for the U.S. National Team's World Cup Qualifier on June 13 against Grenada at Crew Stadium. Donovan will miss the Quakes match on Saturday against the MetroStars on June 12 and the June 19 match in Chicago while with the national team.
-Goalkeeper Pat Onstad and forward Dwayne De Rosario will stay with the Canadian National Team for Canada's first two World Cup Qualifying matches on Sunday, June 13 and Wednesday, June 16 against Belize. The pair will rejoin the Quakes in Chicago prior to San Jose's June 19 game against the Fire.
-Earthquakes defender Todd Dunivant made his first appearance of 2004 tonight against Canada, coming on as a second-half substitute.
Quotes:
Dominic Kinnear, on facing Frank Yallop: "It was fun going against Frank (Yallop). Of course, I want to win; I want to beat him. He's a great friend of mine and he's a good coach. I have a ton of respect for him on and off the field. It's great to see him and I miss him. I wish him and Canada all the best in the qualifying. I hope they do well."
Kinnear, on game: "They had three chances and scored three goals. We had a couple of chances, and didn't take advantage of any of them. So I give them credit for finishing their chances off but I thought we played pretty well."
Former Earthquakes Head Coach Frank Yallop, on returning to Spartan Stadium: "It was great; it brought back fond memories. It was only a few months ago that we were out here together, so it means a lot to mean to come back out here and see all the familiar faces. It was nice to come back to Spartan, it's a beautiful place to play. Unfortunately we couldn't get 90 minutes in."
Dwayne De Rosario, on playing against own team: "It was a weird feeling, especially lining up before the game. I visited the guys in their locker room before the game and it was hard to leave because it felt so comfortable in there. Lining up against your teammates is a strange thing, but it was fun tonight."
International Exhibition
Canadian National Team 3, San Jose Earthquakes 1
San Jose, Calif.; Spartan Stadium; Attendance: 7,013
Scoring Summary:
CAN--Radzinski (unassisted), 23; CAN - Own goal (Waibel), 48; CAN - Peschisolido (de Guzman), 56; SJ - Ching (PK), 60.
SJ--Jon Conway, Wes Hart, Jeff Agoos (Todd Dunivant, 46), Ryan Cochrane, Craig Waibel, Brian Mullan, Ramiro Corrales (Landon Donovan, 71), Richard Mulrooney, Arturo Alvarez, Brian Ching, Jamil Walker (Tighe Dombrowski, 23) TOTAL SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 12; OFFSIDE: 3; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: Conway 3; CAUTIONS: Alvarez 53, Mulrooney 72; EJECTIONS: None.
CANADA-Pat Onstad (Lars Hirschfeld, 46), Paul Stalteri, Ante Jazic, Kevin McKenna, Jason de Vos, Julian de Guzman, Iain Hume (Atiba Hutchinson, 24, (Jim Brennan, 74)), Daniel Imhof, Dwayne De Rosario, Paul Peschisolido, Tomasz Radzinski TOTAL SHOTS: 9; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 19; OFFSIDE: 2; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: Onstad 1; CAUTIONS: de Guzman 25, de Vos 60, Hutchinson 73; EJECTIONS: None.
Referee: Yader Reyes; Referee's Assistants: Chris Strickland, Said Ravaner 4th Official: Sasha Mitelman Attendance: 7,013 Temperature: 68 and Clear.
