San Jose Earthquakes: 3 Key Takeaways From Their Match Against Sporting KC

A look back at the San Jose Earthquake’s week three match and what the club can take from the game heading into the international break.

The San Jose Earthquakes were handed their first loss of the MLS season this past weekend in their match against Sporting KC. The Earthquakes were down 1-0 for most of the match until David Bingham made an unusual mistake and was credited for an own goal which put the Sporting KC lead to 2-0 in the 89th minute.

The match ended up finishing 2-1 after a late Florian Jungwirth goal. Below are three key takeaways from their match this past weekend.

1. Florian Jungwirth is adapting well to his new team

Florian Jungwirth was San Jose’s best player against Sporting KC plain and simple. The center-back had four interceptions, seven tackles, completed 88% of his passes, and also tallied a goal toward the end of the game. Jungwirth has found his footing well so far early in his first season with San Jose.

So far in the three matches he has played in, Jungwirth has averaged four tackles per match and almost three interceptions per match according to SofaScore. Even with it only being three games so far, Jungwirth might already be San Jose’s best signing from this past off-season.

Mar 18, 2017; Kansas City, KS, USA; San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Florian Jungwirth (23) passes the ball during the second half of the match against Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park. Sporting Kansas City won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

2. San Jose struggled to put pressure even with maintaining the majority of possession

The Earthquakes finished the match with maintaining possession for the majority of the match, but couldn’t keep pressure on Sporting KC. The Earthquakes are a team where if they aren’t putting constant pressure on the opposition they struggle.

In the second half they dominated possession, but were only able to get off a few shots and allowed Sporting KC to take seven in that half alone. Even with majority possession San Jose was forced to play the majority of the match on their defensive side of the pitch.

3. Chris Wondolowski was invisible for most of the match

Chris Wondolowski finished the match with zero shots, zero assists, zero goals, and only completed 67% of his passes according to SofaScore. Wondolowski spent the majority of the match playing outside the box rather than inside.

Of course some of that is due to the fact that San Jose spent the majority of the match in their back-half of the pitch. Wondolowski needs to figure out how to make himself available when San Jose has matches where they can’t put pressure on the opposition constantly and are forced to play back more. When Wondolowski struggles the San Jose attack seems to be missing every time even with a second striker. San Jose needs to figure out a plan where they have Wondolowski playing well consistently.

Next: Atlanta United: 3 Key Takeaways from the Chicago match

San Jose currently sit 4th in the Western Conference table and with the international break upon us, San Jose’s next match won’t take place until April 1 against New York City FC.