Two Qazaishvili scores push Quakes past FC Dallas

A Valeri Qazaishvili brace along with a cluster of action that featured four goals in ten minutes gave the San Jose Earthquakes a much-needed 4-3 victory over FC Dallas Saturday night.

The match started out like many other contests at Avaya Stadium with the guest taking an early lead after a clumsy defensive mistake by the home team. But FC Dallas (13-7-6) couldn’t hold the line.

After the game head coach Mikael Stahre said:

“I can’t say that we played the best game, but we scored four goals against a good team. Of course, we conceded too many chances and too many goals but we are happy this evening.”

Defender Nick Lima added:

“We know that they are good, we know we gotta play at the highest level to beat a team like that. Its confidence, it’s playing as a team playing as a unit and following the gameplan. Now its two times in a row that have two good results against them.”

Midfielder Michael Barrios completed a dangerous run into the box then sent a pass towards goal. Lima and keeper Andrew Tarbell would collide and from the ground saw the ball squirt away straight into a ready Maximiliano Urruti. The Argentinian enjoyed an open net and scored the easiest goal of the night, his seventh on the season.

San Jose (4-8-14) needed an answer quickly and did just that by equalizing in the 15th minute.

‘Vako’ scored his seventh goal of the season after a failed clearance from an FC Dallas defender deep in his box. The attempt ricocheted off his teammate straight onto the path of Vako who smashed it into the top netting.

The Georgian midfielder struck the net again in the 42nd minute. Bouncing off defenders near the top of the box, Vako relentlessly marched his tiny body towards goal. Another lucky bounce of the ball led him right in front of the net and into a one-on-one against Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer. From there Vako would not be denied his brace and slotted home a composed finish into the bottom right corner assuring the Quakes 2-1 lead at the half.

San Jose would not hold the lead for long, but the back and forth scoring had just begun.

Urruti was the danger man again for FC Dallas, this time providing the assist to knot the game up 2-2 in the 51st minute. Halftime substitute Santiago Mosquera put away the goal after Quakes defender Guram Kashia could not intercept the pass leaving Mosquera open in front of the goal.

Just three minutes later Magnus Eriksson got in on the action and scored the goal of the night with his long-range curling effort from outside of the box after a pass from striker Chris Wondolowski freed up the Swedish forward with so much space to even consider such a shot.

Of his effort, Eriksson said:

“I like that spot, I usually standing from that distance from practice I try to bend it into the long corner. So it was a good hit, a nice goal, and a nice win.”

As quickly as the Quakes got the lead, they’d give it right back in the 58th. San Jose crumbled, being pulled and dragged out of position leading to another easy goal, this time courtesy of Dallas striker Dominique Badji.

This game had been played out too many times before this season. San Jose blows another lead, at home, after defensive collapses, but the script for tonight would turn out to be different.

Said Stahre:

“In a game, you have to face difficulties and you have to deal with them. We came back after the first goal, and then we conceded another goal. It was a mental challenge for sure and we handled it. Hopefully, we can all benefit from that in the future.”

Just when they needed him the most, captain Wondolowski, who had not started a game since July 25th against The Seattle Sounders, came to the rescue in the 61st minute. The fourth and last goal in the span of a frantic ten minutes would give San Jose the lead for the third and final time.

Wondolowski and ‘Vako’ played a nice set of passes to one another right outside the Dallas box. From inside the box, the San Jose number eight opened his body and buried what would prove to be the game winner. Wondolowski’s eighth goal of the year was also the 142 of his career, leaving him only three behind Landon Donavan for most MLS goals of all-time.

Of chasing down the record, Wondolowski said:

“Its kind of a weird thing, its been talked about throughout this whole year, it’s still there, it’s still a little bit surreal to be this close. I’m hoping to get it and see what it feels like.”

The goal also marks Wondolowski’s 40th MLS game-winning goal, just one behind the MLS record, also held by Landon Donovan.

San Jose ends their three-game homestand with four points after today’s win. This is only the Quakes fourth win of the season but second against FC Dallas, beating them on August 4 by a score of 3-1 in Dallas.

Wondolowski said:

“I feel for these fans, this one goes to them. I appreciate all the support they have given us throughout the whole year. It’s a Wednesday night, we are a last place team but we still had a great atmosphere tonight.”

Up next for San Jose is a trip up the coast to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps at the BC Palace on Saturday, September 1.