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Earthquakes Lose to Real Salt Lake 3-2 Saturday Night

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  • Earthquakes Lose to Real Salt Lake 3-2 Saturday Night

    OurSports Central (press release), WI

    Earthquakes Lose to Real Salt Lake 3-2 Saturday Night

    09/28/08 - Major League Soccer (MLS) San Jose Earthquakes

    ¢ Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...

    SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Major League Soccer's Western Conference is
    getting crazier by the day, and the San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt
    Lake did their best to add to the insanity on Saturday night, with
    Real claiming a priceless 3-2 victory in an action-packed affair at
    Buck Shaw Stadium. Real's Yura Movsisyan and the Quakes' Darren
    Huckerby traded goals in each half, but it was RSL midfielder Javier
    Morales who had the last word, scoring on a curling free kick in the
    59th minute to put the visitors ahead to stay.
    The result saw Real earn only their second road win of the season
    while dealing a crippling blow to the Quakes' playoff hopes. The
    result also ended San Jose's unbeaten streak at nine games.

    Real got off to a dream start in the third minute, when Morales picked
    out Movsisyan with a ball over the top, and after faking Nick Garcia
    to the ground, the Armenian coolly slotted home past Quakes' keeper
    Joe Cannon for a 1-0 lead.

    The Quakes spent the next 20 minutes jawing with RSL players as well
    referee Paul Ward over what the home side perceived was some overly
    physical play. Real were also having success from the run of play, as
    they looked dangerous whenever they isolated the speedy Movsisyan
    against Garcia or Eric Denton.

    But San Jose got back in the game in the 23rd minute, when a long pass
    from Ryan Cochrane sprung Huckerby in the clear, and he responded with
    a composed finish of his own to level matters.

    The Quakes thought they had pulled ahead 10 minutes later. Ned
    Grabavoy was hauled down by Real defender Jamison Olave just outside
    the box, with the Colombian getting a yellow card for his
    troubles. Scott Sealy then fired home a rebound from Ronnie O'Brien's
    free kick, but was adjudged to have been offside.

    Tempers were frayed further just five minutes later when Real defender
    Nat Borchers was booked for hauling down Arturo Alvarez from behind.

    After being on the back foot for most of the half, Real nearly pulled
    ahead in the 43rd minute. Another long ball over the top saw Movsisyan
    break the offside trap. Cannon saved the RSL forward's initial effort,
    and Cochrane then cleared Movsisyan's rebound attempt off the line.

    The Quakes came even closer to going ahead three minutes into
    first-half stoppage time, when Cochrane nodded Huckerby's corner kick
    off the crossbar.

    San Jose picked up where they left off to start the second
    half. Huckerby began the sequence with a run down the left wing, and
    when the ball fell to Alvarez, he responded with a cheeky backheel to
    Huckerby that saw the Englishman rifle home from 20 yards.

    The lead last all of two minutes however, as yet another long ball
    over the top to Movsisyan sprung him on another breakaway, and he
    lofted his shot over the advancing Cannon, making the score 2-2.

    Morales then notched the game-winner in the 59th minute by bending a
    25-yard free kick past Cannon and into the upper right hand corner.

    In a bid to get back into the match, Quakes' manager Frank Yallop
    brought on Ryan Johnson and Shea Salinas for Grabavoy and
    O'Brien. Real head coach Jason Kreis responded by replacing Clint
    Mathis with Robbie Findley, and it was the latter move that paid near
    immediate dividends, as Findley's bullet header from a Morales cross
    forced a sharp save from Cannon in the 72nd minute.

    San Jose nearly equalized in the 78th minute when Huckerby's corner
    kick found Jason Hernandez at the far post, but RSL 'keeper Nick
    Rimando was able to parry his header wide.

    That was as close as the Quakes would get, and it was Real who walked
    off the field with their playoff hopes enhanced.
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