Photo by Kyle Terada/ USA Today Sports
By COLE KELLOGG
With neither Didier Drogba or Ignacio Piatti available for the Montreal Impact, the San Jose Earthquakes were chomping at the bit to earn another win at home on Wednesday night.
The home team didn’t quite get there, though, splitting the points with their Canadian counterpart in a 1-1 draw at Avaya Stadium. Earthquakes captain Chris Wondolowski struck just before half time, but a 10-man Impact equalized midway into the second half through Kyle Bekker.
A win could have taken the Earthquakes from out of the playoff picture all the way up to fourth place in the Western Conference, but with the draw they still sit in seventh. The Impact will happily take the away point, though, sitting in playoff position with three games in hand on the teams below them.
Wondolowski found the back of the net just in the 34th minute after dispossessing an Impact player just outside the box.
The San Jose captain pressured Eric Alexander near the top of the penalty box, forcing the ball into the grasps of strike partner Quincy Amarikwa. Amarikwa was well marked, though, and the ball fell back to Wondolowski for him to fire home through traffic.
Just after the restart, a dangerous tackle from Ambroise Oyongo forced the Impact down to 10 men.
A red card was shown to the Montreal defender in the 49th minute for a two-footed tackle with his studs showing on Matias Perez Garcia.
After leading the match for just over a half hour, the Earthquakes gave up an equalizer in the 65th minute. The Impact created a goal against the run of play as the result of a poor clearance from Earthquakes defender Shaun Francis.
The ball from Francis found Montreal’s Bekker just outside the righthand corner of the 18-yard box. The Canadian midfielder touched the ball inside and put a low curling strike into the net with his left peg.
Although he didn’t find himself on the score sheet, Perez Garcia was creating magic in the Earthquake’s attacking third for the majority of the match. The Argentine playmaker made his skill known in the first half, keeping calm and moving the ball around despite chippy fouls from the Impact players.
Following the result, the Earthquakes will travel to Yankee Stadium on Saturday to face off against New York City FC. The Impact will return home, as they host the New England Revolution at Stade Saputo on Saturday.