SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Earthquakes didn't get what they wanted in the Big Apple, but they sure put on a show.
During a breathless second half, the Quakes rallied from a three-goal deficit only to fall short in a 3-2 loss to New York City FC in their debut at Yankee Stadium.
The Quakes, who have been striving for consistency all season, were up and down and all around.
"We are disappointed," Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear said. "We started off well and had some chances at 0-0 to score, and we are disappointed not to have a goal from those opportunities. They took advantage of our lapses in concentration and scored three goals, and we are fighting back, and it was just a bit too short at the end."
With four games left in the regular season, all against Western Conference foes, the Quakes will next host Real Salt Lake at Avaya Stadium on Sept. 27. It's all still in front of them.
"We still have a chance to get there," midfielder Anibal Godoy said of making the playoffs. "We have to win these home games coming up and that will keep us in the race. We know it will be difficult, but we believe in each other and we will continue fighting to the end."
After NYCFC boltered to a 3-0 lead with three goals in a 14-minute span of the second half, Quincy Amarikwa offered a breathtaking response. He cut the deficit to 3-1 on a leaping header in the 72nd minute, after NYCFC failed to clear a corner kick by Matias Perez Garcia. Then Amarikwa stole a pass on the right and shot off the near post with an open net beckoning him. Next, he drew a foul by Angelino and a penalty kick, which Chris Wondolowski deftly converted in the 76th minute.
Clearly, Kinnear has assembled a group of fighters. Once Amarikwa broke the ice, the game became a cliffhanger.
"This is MLS," Amarikwa said. "Crazier stuff has happened. Just because we went down 3-0 doesn't mean we are going to give up on the game. When a team goes up three, they kind of take their foot off the gas, and if you pull one back they start to panic and they are under pressure to hold that lead."
Both teams needed the win and their play reflected that. NYFC, which received an inspired effort from David Villa, the Spanish legend, had two header goals all season before scoring twice on headers against the Quakes.
Ex-Quake Ned Grabavoy, a 12-year MLS veteran, started the NYCFC surge with back-to-back goals; the first on a deflection off a Villa pass; the second on a header off a deft Frank Lampard cross from the right. Villa made it 3-0 with his 16th goal of the season on a header off an Angelino cross.
"We weren't staying with runners, and we started giving the ball away a little bit too much," Kinnear said. "But then we had some great fight. Quincy's goal gave us a great lift and we had some good play, but their goalkeeper made some good saves. They were desperately defending and we were desperately attacking at the end. ... I appreciate the fight back."
Wondolowski's PK was placed perfectly to his left as the keeper Josh Saunders dived the opposite way. With 15 goals this season, Wondo is tied with Robbie Keane for fourth in the race for the MLS Golden Boot. Wondo has 108 goals in his MLS career, tied for fifth all time with NYCFC coach Jason Kreis.
But it's not about individual statistics right now, not with six hours left in the regular season.
The Quakes looked poised for the win throughout the first half against NYCFC's cast of aging European stars. Then it all got away.
"This was a very important game for us," Godoy said. "It is tough to score three or four goals in that short period of time. We had enough chances in the first half and early in the second half, but we couldn't finish them and that was the difference in the game."
The match had several scintillating sequences.
Saunders made a big save to keep the game scoreless in the 16th minute. After eluding two defenders, Perez Garcia crossed to the back post from the right. Saunders got a touch on the ball, which rolled to Sanna Nyassi in the middle. But his low shot was blocked by a diving Saunders.
In the 29th minute, keeper David Bingham quickly sent a long ball to the ever-sneaky Amarikwa, but his contested shot was knocked out by Saunders. Just before the half, Wondo rolled a shot rolled just wide. Next, Cordell Cato dribbled past a defender, but his near post shot was saved.
"We started off well and some chances at 0-0 to score, and we are disappointed not to have a goal from those opportunities," Kinnear said.
