SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes earned a point at home against Real Salt Lake on Saturday night at Avaya Stadium, playing to a scoreless draw. Serving as the team captain, goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell earned his first shutout of the season.
The Quakes’ starting lineup featured several changes from recent matches, with Guram Kashia, Luis Felipe and Tommy Thompson each making their second starts of the season, and Quincy Amarikwa making his first.
The Quakes’ next MLS match is on Saturday, Aug. 4 against FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium, beginning at 5 p.m. PT. The match will air live on NBC Sports California Plus, KNBR 1050 and 1370 KZSF.
MLS Regular Season
San Jose Earthquakes 0-0 Real Salt Lake
July 28, 2018 – Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 16,351
Scoring Summary: None.
Misconduct Summary: RSL – Marcelo Silva (caution) 43; RSL – Justen Glad (caution) 45+1; SJ – Shea Salinas (caution) 67; SJ – Luis Felipe (caution) 72; RSL – Brooks Lennon (caution) 85.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: Andrew Tarbell; Nick Lima, Guram Kashia, Harold Cummings, Shea Salinas; Anibal Godoy, Luis Felipe, Magnus Eriksson (Jahmir Hyka 72), Tommy Thompson (Chris Wondolowski 85); Vako, Quincy Amarikwa (Danny Hoesen 66).
SHOTS: 14; SHOTS ON TARGET: 3; SAVES: 3; FOULS: 16; CORNER KICKS: 3; OFFSIDES: 2.
REAL SALT LAKE: Nick Rimando; Aaron Herrera, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva, Brooks Lennon; Kyle Beckerman, Sunny, Albert Rusnak (Damir Kreilach 7); Joao Plata (Sebasitan Saucedo 71), Jefferson Savarino, Corey Baird (Nick Besler 90+1).
SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON TARGET: 3; SAVES: 2; FOULS: 18; CORNER KICKS: 4; OFFSIDES: 0.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH MIKAEL STAHRE
Overall thoughts of the 0-0 draw:
“I think we were a little bit better, but I agree it was an equal game. Actually, from my perspective, it was one of the best performances for this season. I think we defended quite compact and solid, and we created enough chances to win this game. Of course, I can’t be happy with a tie at home, but I’m quite pleased with the performance in general.”
On the starting XI:
“We played home here on Wednesday and we also had the friendly against Manchester United on Sunday. I think it’s really important to have fresh legs and energy and that’s why it was important for me to keep the old squad alive. I think all of them today did well.”
On the support of the San Jose Ultras:
“They provided a terrific atmosphere for us tonight. You can tell the players had a bit more energy because they knew the Ultras were behind them. The whole team appreciates what they do.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GOALKEEPER ANDREW TARBELL
On the clean sheet:
“We are happy to finally get the monkey off our backs and get a clean sheet. The whole team worked hard defensively, we are just disappointed that we couldn’t score and win.”
On serving as the team captain:
“Wondo [Chris Wondolowski] didn’t get the start, so I got to wear the armband. I’m proud to represent the club and do everything I can to help the team. I needed to be a vocal leader today, and I was happy to do it.”
On building on the result:
“Hopefully it will give us confidence that we can do it. We just need to keep believing in ourselves. There’s not a lot of people out there believing in us now. We know what we can do, and we’ve got to perform. Tonight, defensively, we did.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI
On how he feels about the last four results:
“It’s definitely tough. You know, it’s good to get a shutout. I think defensively Tarbell had a great game; huge saves. I thought our defense played really well as well.”
On the shutout:
“I think it’s kind of that elephant in the room. We all know it. We’ve talked about it. It’s nice to get. It’s a stepping stone.”
On the improvement in the defensive end:
“It’s always that balance. When you attack, you leave yourself vulnerable defensively and vice versa. If you really concentrate on defense, you’re vulnerable on the attack so it’s always a game to find that balance and we have to do a better job of finding it.”
