Every once in a while you'll see players subbed in the first half for tactical reasons. More often, you might see it happen it halftime. In the San Jose Earthquakes' Week 20 visit to Montreal, we saw both of those subs happen, with another twist thrown in.
It all started in the 41st minute, when Anibal Godoy – who was on a yellow card after a hard challenge on Ignacio Piatti – was replaced by Fatai Alashe. Godoy, fresh off a World Cup campaign with Panama, did not appear to be happy with the move, and TVA's Nicolas Martineau noted that he was "not hurt."
Anibal Godoy n'est pas blessé. Il a retraité au vestiaire par frustration.
— Nicolas A Martineau (@nikmartineauTVA) July 15, 2018
Subbed off after an early yellow card, Anibal Godoy went to the locker room during the game without even looking at the bench. #IMFC #Quakes
Alashe saw out the rest of the half, and took the field when the teams came out for the second half. But before referee Joseph Dickerson could re-start the game, the fourth official held up his board, indicating that Alashe was to be replaced by Jimmy Ockford after being on the field for four minutes plus first-half stoppage time. After taking a long look at the Quakes bench while walking of the field, Alashe engaged in a heated discussion with Stahre before taking his seat:
Although Alashe took the field to start the second half, the Quakes said the fourth-year midfielder had suffered a groin strain late in the first half, and the broadcast crew noted that he had been working out with the San Jose substitutes at halftime:
Fatai leaves the game after suffering a groin strain late in the first half. #MTLvSJ | #WeAreSanJose
— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) July 15, 2018
Stahre and Wondolowski both say @FataiPrince27 had a groin injury. Stahre said there was not a misunderstanding, that he asked Fatai to go out in order to give @jockford time to get ready. Coach also said @a_godoy03 asked 3 or 4 times to leave because of yet another injury.
— Elliott Almond (@ElliottAlmond) July 15, 2018
The Quakes would lose the match, 2-0, after goals on either side of halftime from the Impact and they remain rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference.
The substitution drama comes a few days removed from an incident in which defender Florian Jungwirth drew criticism from a former Quakes player for his comments about the quality of the team's roster.
