It was all Chris Wondolowski’s magic once again. Wondo delivered a brace in the first 45 minutes, and his Earthquakes easily cruised past the Orlando City, 3-0. It was his 156th and 157th goal in the MLS, and it seems that the experienced striker isn’t going to stop increasing the figure anytime soon.
Wondo’s impact on the field is indispensable for San Jose, and despite his age, the player is without a doubt the No. player of this franchise.
The Quakes opened the game in the best possible manner, as Magnus Eriksson broke the lock of the guests already in the third minute and beat Brian Rowe. It was a flying start for the home team.
But they didn’t stop there. San Jose increased the tempo and pressured the rival, even more, not allowing the Lions to catch a breath. In the first 20 minutes of the match, the Quakes had six goal attempts and the same number of corners, plus a goal.
When the stopwatch hit the 20-minute mark, Wondolowski struck for the first time. Valeri Qazishvili made a perfect pass to the striker who rushed in behind Orlando’s defense and beat Rowe. The guests were protesting that it might have been offside, but nothing happened.
Some 13 minutes later, Wondo put his name on the scoresheet for the second time. This time the 35-year old hit the back of the net with a precise shot from inside the box. He was more than pleased with the way his entire team played.
“It was nice to come out and really get a hold of the game and dictate it from there,” Wondolowski said. “I thought our whole defense played amazing. It was pretty cool to see.”
That was the final result of the halftime and the game also. Despite Orlando’s attempts to score at least one goal in the second half, the home team kept confidence in their play, and they denied all those tries. Quakes waited for counter-attacks and didn’t want to spend too much energy as they already had a comfortable lead.
“We’ve been able to possess the ball in a dominant way in a sense where we have possession in their half. That opens it up and creates for myself and the others,” Wondolowski added after the match.
It took a record 43 shots to get the win last week, but only 20 today. "Last game we created a lot of opportunities and didn't have that killer instinct, and we weren't clinical in front of the goal," said Chris Wondolowski. "Today we were a little bit." https://t.co/fw59txtz9I
— Robert Jonas (@robertjonas) September 1, 2019
San Jose is currently second in the Western Conference with nice prospects to stay there until the end of the regular part of the season. Although the competition is massive, they are in solid shape right now. The Quakes have 12 games in a row without a loss at home, winning 10 of them and posting just two draws.
If they maintain this pace and improve on the road a little bit, chances to clinch the second spot are solid. However, the competition is very tough, and, for example, Portland Timbers who are 8th and outside the playoff zone have four points fewer with a game in hand.
As for the Lions, their playoff chances are fading away. The team from Florida is 9th in the East with four points fewer than Toronto FC who is first above the playoff line. And not only that, City has a game more played. The form too isn’t on their side. Nani and the boys won just once in the previous six events.
The next game for them is the toughest possible, as the leaders of the league LAFC come to Orlando next Saturday. Meanwhile, the Quakes will try to snatch all three points in Salt Lake City, where they face Real on September 11th
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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