KANSAS CITY, Kan. – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on Saturday evening at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Sporting Kansas City got on the board in the 10th minute. A blocked cross fell to Daniel Salloi inside the penalty area and his low shot beat goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski at the far post.
The two sides traded goal-scoring opportunities for the remainder of the match, with both teams having a goal disallowed due to offsides just minutes apart early in the second half. Ultimately, neither team were able to score again before the final whistle.
The Earthquakes will now return to San Jose to host Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday, Sept. 4, presented by Mindstrong. The match will kick off from PayPal Park at 6:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on NBC Sports California, KNBR 1050 (English), and 1370 KZSF (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes currently hold a 6-12-9 record (27 pts.) during the 2022 MLS regular season.
San Jose is now 25-29-10 all-time vs. Sporting KC, including an 8-22-2 record on the road.
The Earthquakes are now 6-8-6 in MLS play under interim head coach Alex Covelo.
Midfielder Jamiro Monteiro made his 100th MLS appearance (75 w/ PHI, 25 w/ SJ), starting and playing 90 minutes.
Goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski made a season-high seven saves.
Rookie defender Oskar Ågren made his third career appearance, starting and playing 90 minutes.
Seventeen-year-old rookie midfielder Niko Tsakiris made his fifth career appearance, entering the match as a substitute in the 73rd minute.
MATCH INFORMATION
2022 MLS Regular Season
Sporting Kansas City 1 – 0 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022 – Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Attendance: 18,241
Scoring Summary:
SKC (1-0) – Daniel Salloi (unassisted) 10’
Misconduct Summary:
SKC – Ben Sweat (caution) 42’
SKC – William Agada (caution) 45’
SJ – Tanner (caution) 57’
SKC – Andreu Fontas (caution) 88’
SJ – Oskar Ågren (caution) 90+1’
SPORTING KANSAS CITY: John Pulskamp; Ben Sweat (Logan Ndenbe 54), Andreu Fontas, Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, Graham Zusi; Roger Espinoza (Felipe Hernandez 46), Erik Thommy (Cam Duke 90+4), Remi Walter; Johnny Russell © (Marinos Tzinois 90+3), Daniel Salloi (Khiry Shelton 79), William Agada.
Substitutes not used: Kendall McIntosh (GK), Kayden Pierre, Uri Rosell, Robert Voloder,
SHOTS: 18; SHOTS ON GOAL: 8; FOULS: 15; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 4
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski; Paul Marie (Shea Salinas 81), Tanner Beason, Oskar Ågren, Tommy Thompson (Jack Skahan 81); Jan Gregus (Niko Tsakiris 73), Jackson Yueill ©, Jamiro Monteiro; Benji Kikanović (Cade Cowell 65), Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse.
Substitutes not used: Matt Bersano (GK), Judson, Eric Remedi, Will Richmond.
SHOTS: 11; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; FOULS: 14; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 7
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES INTERIM HEAD COACH ALEX COVELO
On tonight’s performance and how the young players took advantage of their opportunities:
“My conclusions are very clear; I think the team tried to win the game. We had an opportunity from Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy [Ebobisse] had an opportunity, a set piece was another one and then we had another from Cade [Cowell] where Jebo [Jeremy Ebobisse] couldn’t get to it. It was an interesting game and I believe we did all we could do to win the game. I have no regrets from the players because they tried and right now, we need to analyze it and Monday start again. With relation to the young players, Cade [Cowell] had a very good game last time which is why he came in. He did a good job and almost had an assist to Jebo [Jeremy Ebobisse]. With Niko [Tsakiris], I don’t care if he is 17 years old or 35 years old, we needed the attack and two players in front of Jackson [Yueill] in order to be more offensive.”
On if the team can become more counter-attack oriented:
“We knew that we would come here to the heat in Kansas. Sporting Kansas City is not the same team that we faced at home. We tried to start our line of confrontation a little bit lower and even then, they found spaces to overload our left side, and right side. At times they had a 3-v-1 against Tommy [Thompson] and that’s why at halftime we regrouped to make sure the team was compact. The idea was to be more solid in the middle and wait for our opportunities, and we all tried to attack. We need to understand when to apply pressure high and when to drop with our line of confrontation a little bit lower in terms of the game plan.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER JT MARCINKOWSKI
On the match and Sporting’s game plan:
“I can’t say much about their tactics, but they had a clear idea about how they wanted to play and I thought they played well throughout the match. I also think we had a spell of moments that created a few chances and we should have created a few more. Defensively, I did have a few saves but it’s not like they were that tough or clear-cut opportunities. In general, I thought our backline played really well. I think we started a little slow and that trickled into the rest of the first half. The second half was kind of the same. We started a bit slow and found our feet and got going. Just couldn’t find one.”
On the frustration of not getting at least a point:
“At this point in the season, anything besides three points is really frustrating. We obviously know that we only have seven games left now. I think this was a big opportunity tonight but then there’s another one next Sunday against Vancouver. We’ll watch some film and recoup and recover and figure some things out that need to be better in the first half and early in the second half, and also highlight the positives that we had throughout the match today. Sporting is always a tough team to play away and I think they’re a much different team now than earlier in the season with new signings and finding their rhythm. Overall, proud of the guys and proud to be a part of this team and we’ll continue to fight until we can’t anymore.”
