COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The San Jose Earthquakes entered Saturday night desperate for points in a tight race for the Western Conference’s final playoff position, but they faced a Colorado Rapids side which has gone unbeaten through their last 14 home matches. The Quakes earned a respectable point in a 0-0 draw, but their margin for error in the fight for a playoff berth tightened.
“We’re still in it,” said Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear. “If we would’ve walked away with nothing, it’s a bit damning. When we look at the standings, we have some games in hand on some people, but games in hand are only good if you win those games. It would have been a great lift for us if we did [win].”
It was destined to be a defensive matchup between two of the lowest conceding teams in the West. But the first half wasn’t without its chances from either side, with Colorado and San Jose combining for 11 total shots including two on target efforts from the visitors. A Fatai Alashe effort, which may have been the best chance of the night, was thwarted by Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard in the 43rd minute.
“Guys were trying hard, so I give them 100-percent credit for that,” Kinnear said. “We came up with some good looks, but Tim [Howard] had some good saves.”
San Jose continued to create chances in the second half, but were unable to unlock Howard, who ended the night with three saves. The Rapids defense, which doubled up on the Earthquakes, finishing the match with 26 defensive clearances.
“I thought in the second half we did a better job of finding Simon [Dawkins] and Chris [Wondolowski],” Kinnear continued. “For the most part, we carried that second half and were unlucky to have one of those balls fall right for us.”
The Quakes offense was boosted with the 73rd-minute substitution of Quincy Amarikwa. The midfielder threatened with a few offensive runs, but ultimately did not look as sharp in his return from an ankle injury sustained last month.
“[Quincy] is just getting back to fitness,” Kinnear said. “He’s probably about 30 minutes fit, especially in this altitude. At Kansas City, I think we’ll be adding some more minutes onto that.”
A point against one of the West’s top teams was a step in the right direction, but next week’s home match against currently sixth-place Sporting KC will be all the more critical.
“We walked away from a tie in a tough place to play," Kinnear said. "But for us, in our position, we need to start winning some games.”
