SAN JOSE, Calif. – There was plenty to talk about at Avaya Stadiumon Sundayafternoon – but no goals between FC Dallas and the San Jose Earthquakes.
Three players were sent off – Mark Sherrod and JJ Koval for the Quakes, Je-Vaughn Watson for Dallas – but only three total shots were on target as the clubs, especially the hosts, created chances but struggled to find the proper range.
It was a result that helped neither side in the increasingly congested Western Conference standings. Dallas (6-4-4) moved into a tie with Portland for fourth place with 22 points but saw their winless streak extended to four games. San Jose (5-5-4) stayed eighth on 19 points, their winless run moving to three matches.
Coming off a 4-0 loss to Sporting KC last weekend, Oscar Pareja made five changes to the Dallas lineup, giving Atiba Harris and David Texeira their second starts in nine matches, and Michael Barrios his second start of the season. With leading scorer Blas Perez on Panamanian national team duty, Texeira nestled underneath Tesho Akindele.
San Jose welcomed back rookie holding midfielder Fatai Alashe from US Under-23 duty and installed second-year forward Sherrod – who made his Quakes debut last week after finishing his recovery from knee injuries that cost him almost a full year – atop their 4-1-4-1 formation.
Sherrod had the first early look at goal, but his left-footed stab from 7 yards went high in this 16th minute.
Barrios sped past a fallen Marvell Wynne and deked Victor Bernardez to get free inside the San Jose area on 20 minutes – but leaping goalkeeper David Bingham used an outstretched hand to deflect a shot that looked ticketed for the upper 90.
The Quakes’ defense scrambled to clear a dangerously pinballing free kick in the 22nd, with Wynne’s initial knockdown followed by a Bernardez header and finally, a booming Clarence Goodson clearance moments before Harris’ arrival.
San Jose pressed the issue in the final 15 minutes of the first half, but couldn’t cash in. Cordell Cato’s menacing cross skipped just past the onrushing Goodson and Sherrod. Chris Wondolowski was sprung by a Matias Perez Garcia pass, only to be denied by sliding goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. Bernardez had a free header from a corner kick but bounced his attempt off the turf and over the crossbar. And referee Baldomero Toledo tuned out shouts for a penalty after Shea Salinas fell inside Dallas’ box.
The game changed in the 53rd minute when Kennedy went down to collect a Quakes cross. Sherrod tried to hurdle over Kennedy but after contact was made with the goalkeeper’s head, Toledo showed a straight red.
Pareja wasted little time before inserting speedster Fabian Castillo – held out of the starting lineup with a hamstring issue – in a bid to break the stalemate.
Instead, the Quakes earned the next legitimate chance, with Matt Hedges’ intercession the only thing stopping Wondolowski from finishing Salinas’ 74th minute free kick. The ensuing corner kick was cleared to Watson, whose heavy touch allowed Cato to make a sliding play on the ball – and earn a red on Watson for a raking slide of his own.
Wondolowski tried to loop a header past Kennedy in the 84th, but it floated wide. Three minutes later, Koval was shown the gate for delivering a studs-up tackle to the shin of Ryan Hollingshead. Neither team could create a shot on goal after that.
Dallas will return to action next week, when they travel to the Pacific Northwest to face the West-leading Seattle Sounders. San Jose has next weekend off, they’ll host the USL’s Sacramento Republic on June 16 in an Open Cup match before playing at Seattle on June 20.
