Edvin Almighty forces Quakes to settle for 1-1 draw

San Jose’s Ryan Johnson was judged to have pulled down Colorado’s Drew Moor in stoppage time, leading to the PK that gave the Rapids an equalizer. Photo: Joe Nuxoll, centerlinesoccer.com

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquake players gathered around the big-screen television in their locker room and watched intently as the play unfolded. As a Colorado Rapids corner kick floated in, they could see the ball nodded into the path of Rapids’ defender Drew Moor, at which point Ryan Johnson draped his arm around Moor’s shoulder, and appeared pull him back.

Johnson turned away in disgust and claimed “I barely touched him, you know?” Shea Salinas, remote control in hand, went one better, and insisted that Moor was offside when the ball was played to him. Of those claims, Salinas’ seemed to have the most merit. Yet the only opinion that mattered was that of referee Edvin Jurisevic, who signaled for a penalty in second half stoppage time that was rifled home by Rapids’ forward Conor Casey. And instead of celebrating a 1-0 victory, the Quakes were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw that felt like a loss.

Adding to Johnson’s misery was the fact that he was all set to don the hero’s cape, as his goal in the eighth minute had staked the Quakes to their 1-0 lead. But it wasn’t enough as San Jose conspired once again to throw two points away on their home turf.

“The ball was headed back post, and there were three guys by themselves behind me,” said Johnson of the penalty call. “I had to try and make up the ground and try to break up that play. [The referee] called the foul.”

Manager Frank Yallop was a bit more philosophical.

“Having seen it again, it probably was a penalty,” said Yallop. “But I just think in the context of the game, do you have to give it? Maybe not. But [Johnson] put his hand on his shoulder and the fellow went down.”

It was a play that in many ways encapsulated the Quakes’ season. Long stretches of good play - in this instance by goalkeeper Joe Cannon and the entire back line - were undone by one critical mistake.

“I don’t think we’ve played as well as that and then lost or tied,” said Yallop. “I think our performance was good, but yeah, it sums up our luck here and there. The boys are disappointed. They put so much into [the game] and they only get a point out of it.”

The Quakes started brightly with Shea Salinas rattling the post inside of two minutes. Johnson then capped off the spell in the eighth minute when his looping header from a Brandon McDonald throw-in sailed over goalkeeper Preston Burpo and snuck inside the far post to the home side up, 1-0.

“That was a play we’ve been working on the last two days before the game,” said Johnson of his goal. “It was a long throw to be flicked on to the back post. Some of those plays, they work out and end up in the back of the net like tonight.”

Colorado responded with an aggressive stretch of their own in which they forced several corner kicks and created some solid chances through Mehdi Ballouchy and Omar Cummings.

Yet the Quakes defense held firm, and as the game progressed it looked more and more like they would hold out for just their sixth win of the season.

But an inability to put the game away would be the Quakes’ undoing. San Jose had several chances late in the match, but particularly galling was a 2-on-1 break in the 82^nd minute involving Chris Wondolowski and Bobby Convey. Convey looked to have put the ball on a platter for Wondolowski, but the Quakes’ forward failed to read Convey’s intentions and the chance was wasted.

“We should have finished them off at 1-0,” said Yallop. “We had a couple of breaks - Chris [Wondolowski] had one and Bobby [Convey] had one - if we stick that in it kills the game for them.”

The Quakes will have to regroup quickly. They play away to Colorado on Wednesday to complete the back end of an unusual home-and-home series. Defender Jason Hernandez indicated that San Jose will definitely use Friday’s result as motivation for the return encounter.

“Today, [the result] still stings a bit,” said Hernandez. “The guys are a bit bitter and it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. But we’re just going to have to learn from our mistakes, learn that there are a few different ways to kill the game and really try to grow and learn. But there’s not too much negative I can say about the boys tonight. I thought they did a good job.”