Sunday night’s matchup between Toronto F.C. and the San Jose Earthquakes at BMO Field saw Chris Wondolowski steal the show.
The veteran striker scored a brace in a 2-1 win in Canada
However it was Toronto’s Richie Laryea who broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, earning his first MLS goal courtesy of a Marco Delgado assist. The Canadian blasted the ball by Quakes keeper Daniel Vega.
The freshly crowned MLS all-time goal king, Chris Wondolowski evened things up shortly after in the 37th minute. Making it look easy, he passed one by TFC goalkeeper Quentin Westberg who was taken away from the play by Christian Espinoza, who whipped it in and registered the assist.
Both Espinoza and Tommy Thompson will be suspended for the Earthquakes next week against D.C. United, as they came into the game carrying the pressure of being suspended under next caution and both received yellow cards in the game.
Wondolowski struck again in the 81st minute, scoring in a similar fashion with a tap-in courtesy of the service supplied by Espinoza on the right wing. The goal was good for the final say in the game, and number 150 of his career.
Man of the Match
While it wasn’t the lightning in a bottle four-goal occasion Wondolowski produced last week, the veteran supplied all San Jose needed to win the game as the striker further padded his status as the league’s all-time scorer.
Moment of the Match
Wondolowski’s game-winner in the 81st minute lifted the Quakes, and continued the recent momentum created by the 36-year-old.
Match to Forget
Despite earning two assists on the evening, Espinoza’s flagrant closed-fist strike to the face of TFC’s Ashonte Morgan earned him a yellow card in the 64th minute and factors him out of an important game next week.
Wondo has shown he is not done yet. I never understood why Bradley, Klinsmann or Arena never gave him full games. In his stints with the USMNT, he was consistently used for less than 45 minutes, despite the players in the training camps saying he just could not stop scoring goals in training.
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Also, if you watched SanJose when Wondo was at his peak, he just worked so hard to get open, it often resulted in defenders eventually switching off and failing to run with him especially late in games when he would score. Perhaps the USMNT coaches wanted more clever play than simply exhausting the defense and then punishing their mistakes, but it is effective. I cannot remember his name right now, but in 1994, Mexico’s striker used the same tactic of constant movement to wear out his opponents. I recall watching him run non-stop in 95° heat at the 1994 WC as I sweltered in the heat.. That kind of constant movement may not always be productive or even pretty, but it can be effective.
Wondolowski…..way to go out in style!!! More goals ⚽ than any other American striker in MLS in the history of the game!!!!…..AND THIS 2019 SEASON WITH 6 GOALS……IN TWO matches. If only scoring goals was as important as “hold-up play”…..lol ???
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#RESPECT ?