Sporting a revamped lineup due its quick turnaround, San Jose was stout throughout to earn a point via an 0-0 road draw against the New England Revolution, in Earthquakes coach Bruce Arena’s return to Foxborough, Mass., on Saturday night.
Coming off Wednesday’s 3-3 home draw against Inter Miami, Arena — who coached New England from 2019-23 — made nine changes to his starting 11.
Stars Cristian “Chicho” Arango, Josef Martinez, Cristian Espinoza and Beau Leroux did not start, but the Earthquakes (5-6-3, 18 points) held a 14-10 advantage in total shots and were often the aggressors while improving to 2-0-2 in May.
They were also more than competitive defensively, holding New England (5-4-3, 18 points) to just two shots on target. However, the Revolution didn’t buckle, either, and ran their unbeaten run to six matches (4-0-2).
San Jose was arguably the better side through a first half of play, which did not feature a shot on target from either club. The Earthquakes, who owned an 8-3 advantage in overall shots prior to the break, had the only serious scoring threat in the opening half. However, Amahl Pellegrino shanked his up-close attempt wide right in the 30th minute.
New England, meanwhile, carried nearly 54 percent of the first-half possession and recorded four corners. However, none of that resulted in any dangerous scoring chances.
The Revolution did have a quality opportunity to break through in the 54th minute, but Carles Gil slipped on his free-kick attempt from near the top of the box and the ball sailed well over the ‘Quakes’ goal.
Soon after, both sides stepped up the offensive pressure. Gil’s point-blank drive in the 67th minute was saved by San Jose goalkeeper and ex-Revolution Earl Edwards Jr., who replaced the apparently injured Daniel after halftime.
Then one minute later, San Jose’s Paul Marie hit the left post with his shot.
New England thought it scored in the 60th, but Ignatius Ganago was ruled offside on the play that waived off the goal.
–Field Level Media
