Takeaways from the Earthquakes’ 2-1 loss at Yankee Stadium

BRONX, N.Y.  – There were some tough lessons learned by the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday with an MLS playoff berth at stake.

The Quakes lost focus and made costly mistakes in the waning minutes of the opening half, letting a one-goal lead turn into a 2-1 defeat to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. The Earthquakes (13-12-5, 44 points), who entered the day in fifth place in the Western Conference, suffered their second successive loss as their road losing streak reached five games.

Here are some things we learned:

Throw-ins matter

They might seem like a simple and innocuous play, but throw-ins can change games. Case in point: With the Quakes leading 1-0 in the 40th minute, defender Marcos Lopez threw the ball right to NCYFC’s Keaton Parks. Parks raced some 40 yards before passing to Gary Mackay-Steven, whose shot was kick-saved by goalkeeper Daniel Vega. But Parks slotted home the rebound and the equalizer.

“One of their goals came from our throw-in. We threw it straight at them. That’s never a plan. Our throw-ins are supposed to be towards our own players,” head coach Matias Almeyda said.

Don’t let your guard down at the end of the half

Yes, it is cliché that players shouldn’t lose concentration in the opening and final five minutes of games and halves. Enough players lost concentration that the Quakes allowed goals in the 40th and 43rd minute.

(Alexandru Mitrita with the game-winner). While the Quakes pushed for the equalizer in the second half, they never got it.

“The opponent, with the powerful offense they had, they hurt us. Football tells you that you have to be 98 minutes purely concentrated. We were up until the 35th minute, exerting the opponent, making them play what they usually don’t play.”

Wondo is still wonderful

At 36, Chris Wondolowski continues to demonstrate he is the league’s best goal-poacher of them all. He tallied his 14th goal of the season to lift the Quakes to a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute. If you’re counting, it was Wondo’s 158th MLS goal, a league record.

Asked about his future plans, Wondo replied, “I’m enjoying it right now. I love coming in, I love working, I love going to practice. It’s a fun locker room right now and I’m enjoying. At the same time, I am going to re-evaluate it at the end of this year. Just take all of the inventory, talk with the family but I would like to play one more.”