ORLANDO, Fla. - The San Jose Earthquakes fell to Orlando City SC 5-0 on Tuesday night at Exploria Stadium. The two teams endured multiple weather delays before kickoff and during the first half.
Orlando City SC would jump out to an early lead on a penalty kick by Nani before adding two more in the first half. Orlando would then tack on two more in the opening and closing minutes of the second half.
The Earthquakes will now return to San Jose to host the LA Galaxy in the California Clasico this Saturday, June 26, presented by Sutter Health. Saturday's match kicks off from PayPal Park at 7:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast nationally on UniMás, TUDN and Twitter (English audio), and aired via radio on KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF. The rivalry match will be the first played with no capacity restrictions at PayPal Park since March 7, 2020.
GAME NOTES
The Earthquakes now hold a 3-6-1 record (10 pts.) during the 2021 MLS regular season and are currently in eighth place in the Western Conference.
The Quakes are now 1-2-3 all-time vs. Orlando City SC.
MLS Regular Season
Orlando City SC 5 - 0 San Jose Earthquakes
June 22, 2021 - Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Attendance: 15,476
Scoring Summary: ORL - Nani (penalty) 7; ORL - Benji Michel (Chris Mueller) 16; ORL - Daryl Dike (Nani) 31; ORL - Daryl Dike (Nani) 49; ORL - Benji Michel (Tesho Akindele, Mauricio Pereyra) 90.
Misconduct Summary: SJ - Judson (caution) 25; SJ - Oswaldo Alanis (caution) 52.
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ORLANDO CITY SC: *Brandon Austin; Joao Moutinho (Michael Halliday 46), Robin Jansson, Kyle Smith, Antonio Carlos; Chris Mueller (Uri Rosell 77), Junior Urso (Mauricio Pereyra 56), Benji Michel, Andres Perea; Nani (Alexander Alvarado 71), Daryl Dike (Tesho Akindele 71).
Substitutes not used: Joey DeZart, Rio Hope-Gund, Mason Stajduhar, Silvester van der Water.
SHOTS: 17, SHOTS ON GOAL: 8; FOULS: 11; CORNER KICKS: 2.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: JT Marcinkowski; Paul Marie (Shea Salinas 40), Oswaldo Alanis, Florian Jungwirth (Cade Cowell 40), Tommy Thompson (Luciano Abecasis 57); Jackson Yueill, Judson, Cristian Espinoza, Chofis (Tanner Beason 57); Andy Rios, Chris Wondolowski.
Substitutes not used: Jacob Akanyirige, Matt Bersano, Benji Kikanovic, Jack Skahan, Daniel Vega.
SHOTS: 12, SHOTS ON GOAL: 1; FOULS: 9; CORNER KICKS: 5.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MATIAS ALMEYDA
On the approach to this match:
"The strategy was obviously different from what we've seen. Up until the fifth minute, we were demonstrating the style of play we were looking for. I think the team dropped after the penalty. Orlando has more than just two important players; they have between 15 and 18 important players. Their fullbacks and center backs are important, their midfield is important, and they have many important attacking players. We are aware of the differences between rosters. We came to play our game, and evidently, we did that poorly. When this happens, we should identify the mistakes and the number of mistakes we made. We must realize that MLS has changed. There are many strong teams. There are teams with rosters that separate them from the rest. I won't stop congratulating the opponent. They played really well. Our team, including myself, first and foremost, did not come through."
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On how he visualized the match playing out:*
"It turned out totally different. That's why we lost. We lost by five goals, and it could have been more. We were very bad on the pitch. We did not apply the pressure we needed to. We did not use spaces we thought about using. The goals came from our mistakes. We need to sit down and have another talk, reflect and try not make the same mistakes but we have this before. We need to give the players confidence and try to move forward. I'm aware of what took place, but this wasn't the result we had planned. We didn't come to play man-to-man; we didn't need high pressure. We needed to make the difference with the ball, passing it to a teammate, not giving it away. Any scheme can fall through if you turn the ball over in dangerous zones."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER SHEA SALINAS
On the team's discussion during the weather delay:
"When you prepare for a game, you never expect to go down three goals so early. It's not something you're really ready for. It's a bit frustrating because we had possession, we were playing well. They had three counterattacks and three goals pretty quickly there. It was a bit of a surprise and a bit frustrating for the whole team. We told ourselves when we came in for the lightning break to keep our heads up. Obviously, everyone was down but it was important that we came out and showed that we can fight and bring energy. I thought we did that. I thought in the second half, we had a lot more energy. We still maintained possession. Unfortunately, we still got counter-attacked really well and we lost a lot of steam there at the end of the game."
On playing in Austin and Orlando on short rest:
"Yeah, the conditions are a factor; to travel, the game on Saturday night. That was a really quick turnaround. But we could make excuses all day after every game. It's not going to help you. We have a big game Saturday, so there's no point dwelling on what conditions could have been better. We're looking at going forward Saturday and coming out with more energy, more control of the game, and shutting down their attack and scoring more goals than them."
