Post-match: Atlanta United FC - San Jose Earthquakes (Saturday, 9/21) postgame thread [R]

Sherman should have finished the job.

 

Phew - looks like I picked a good game to miss.

My daughter is pretty much apoplectic about Espinoza's second yellow. According to her, the Atl player was on the ground, shielding and playing the ball, so (in her words "What the f*** is Espinoza supposed to do?"

Haven't seen the play myself, and from the sound of it, I'm not going to expend a lot of effort to try and watch this game ex post facto...

 

“It’s a danger to have reason where there is little justice.”

This is not looking good, #Quakes74. https://t.co/AplH9RaHBR

— Joel Soria (@soriajoelfutbol) September 22, 2019

 

Viva Matias!

 

I knew we were in trouble when Vega got a yellow card for time wasting in minute 48 (you never see that, not in the 48th minute). I think Penso went into this game with a grudge on his shoulder and we were going to lose, he was going to make sure of it.

 

Whose brilliant idea was it to have a red carded player not be replaced by a substitute. Playing a man down against another team is just dumb. That rule needs to be changed. Give the opposing team a 10 min advantage or something.

 

Unfortunately, now that I've seen the replay, it's pretty clear Espinoza clipped the guy on the ankle, he went down, then Espi stomped on his calf.

 

I've always felt this way. Of course, to achieve the desired deterrence, it would be necessary to make the team play down a man for 5 minutes for a yellow card as well.
The reason this doesn't happen is the same as why we have the stupidity of "time kept on the field" while the ball is out of play and players are rolling on the ground while the crowd yells and throws things: namely basic economics. Soccer was invented before electricity and exported to many poor countries that don't have the luxury of scoreboard clocks.
No 20th century US sport would put up with this nonsense

 

Worse, the red-carded player cannot play the next game. That's the real killer in this instance.

But the rules are the rules, and Espinoza deserved his red.

 

Josef Martinez left the game with a serious looking injury. It was a Pity how it happened.

 

On the Espinoza second yellow card. The defender attempts to play the ball while he’s in a horrible position on the ground. He basically scoots into Espinoza’s path

 

Agreed. Officiating was imbalanced. I only wish we never see Penso again. Fat chance of that, however.

But, as fans, let's make sure to let Matias and the FO know that we are behind him 100%!

 

I always hate to see a player injured, even one I dislike as much as Martinez. But I think that crap plastic turf at Atlanta was a major contributing factor so my "Pity" is quite limited,

 

I think next time Penso gets a Center Ref assignment in San Jose he should be mercilessly booed. And keep it up all game. And if he turns in another performance like tonight send a tape of it to the league with the strong "suggestion" that he had his mind made up before the opening whistle.

 

Yeah but Espinoza goes full weight on him. Could have been straight red. Easily a 2nd yellow.

 

Maybe Corrales and the towel whip on Amado Guevara.
I doubt Wondo deserved it. So I guess talking crap on the bench isn't allowed but on the field is.

 

Why? Because Espinoza, Matias, and Wondo stupidly get themselves ejected? This game was for all intents and purposes lost the moment Espinoza got himself booted.

 

Can't be prouder of our warriors! Fighting not only against other teams but fighting against the MLS mafia. On a different note, speedy recovery to Josef Martinez. pic.twitter.com/iHisLJeBo6

— San Jose Ultras (@SanJoseUltras) September 21, 2019

 

Yes to the first and no to the second.

 

Rumor has it? Like you heard it on the internet?

 

Since LAFC can't play LAG in the finals then why not purposely pit the two best offensive forwards against each other.?

 

For Espinoza's red card, I believe the preceeding foul wasn't a flop since Espinoza took out Escobar's standing leg. Escobar makes a play to poke the ball since the referee didn't blow his whistle yet, and I don't see Espinoza stamp him multiple times, just the once, I also thought twice when seeing it live but it was the camera angle. Pretty clear second yellow, no problems there.

I also wasn't/wouldn't be "infuriated" with the ref before this incident. Penso called 5 fouls committed by us on Atlanta players before Espinoza red card incident:
foul 1: Judson clips and lightly shoves Pity after he makes a pass, okay foul [2:26]
foul 2: Josef dive, don't personally blame the ref because Josef sells it well and Kashia is still kind of holding his arm [11:42]
foul 3: Jungwirth holds back Pity's shoulder before he attempts a pass, totally a foul [20:27]
foul 4: Judson trips Pity, Pity doesn't play through the contact and sells it but still a foul [21:01]
foul ?: noticed this as I was looking at foul 5, Jungwirth does a handball that goes uncalled as he recieves the ball [24:52]
foul 5: Wondo nudges Robinson in the back as he goes for a header, totally a foul [25:10]
For fouls 1,3, and 5 Atlanta plays through the contact and doesn't ask for the ref to make a call, and Penso only made one (understandable) mistake from my POV.

I don't think its fair to say the refs cost us the match, even with the few bad flopping calls and BS Vega timewasting yellow. Even while we were a man up, over the entire first half we took 0 shots, it was not like we were playing well before the red card. The two next red cards might have also been BS, but they weren't even for our on-field players, the 10 left on the pitch could have been able to fight it out somehow, if the referee really wanted to screw us over he would have been smarter to card Judson early and give him a red card after another foul(Jusdon got his 1st yellow on his 5th foul). The refs didn't let Nagbe run right through our midfield and find a wide open Hyndman in the 90th minute, we did.