SAN JOSE – Goals galore greeted a sellout crowd that came Wednesday night to see Messi and InterMiami visit the San Jose Earthquakes.
No, Messi did not score any of the five goals that peppered the nets before halftime. He did, however, assist a 52nd-minute goal that resulted in a 3-3 draw before the 18,000 fans at PayPal Park.
Messi twice nearly broke the tie in extra time, only to be thwarted by defender Daniel Munie and goalkeeper Daniel. When Messi fell to the turf in the 94th minute in front of the penalty box, no foul was called, the game resumed, and the tie would stand.
Two fans were clotheslined by security guards as they rushed the field at game’s end, while Messi headed to confront the officials over the non-call minutes earlier.
The Earthquakes (5-2-6) had won their previous three matches, including one in the U.S. Open Cup. Inter Miami (6-4-2) heads home after an extended road trip that began with Saturday’s 4-1 loss in Minnesota.
Each team scored in Wednesday’s opening 2 minutes and 5 seconds, for a 1-1 eye-opener. It was the fifth time in MLS’s 30-year history that two goals have come in the opening three minutes, and it’s the fastest since 2008.
By halftime, San Jose led 3-2, which shouldn’t have been too stunning considering they’d scored MLS’s most goals entering Wednesday’s matches.
Nor was it surprising that Messi played a role in a tying goal early in the second half.
Messi helped Inter Miami pull even at 3 in the 52nd minute on Allende’s second goal. Messi produced a secondary assist — better known as a hockey assist to the likes of San Jose Sharks’ legend Joe Thornton, who was in the stands. Messi eluded defender Dave Romney to pass the ball to Baltasar Rodriguez for an ensuing cross to Allende.
None of those first-half goals came from Messi despite his tries: an 18th-minute, right-footed shot zipped wide of the left post; a diving header from the 12-yard mark that Daniel easily saved in the 40th-minute; and, a 25-yard, left-footed free kick that missed wide of the right post as the half expired.
Seemingly every time Messi touched the ball, the crowd reacted in unison, more so with cheers than jeers.
InterMiami found the net first, only 35 seconds into the game on Maximiliano Falcon’s header. That play started with a corner-kick tap to Messi, and as two Earthquakes defenders approached, he passed the ball back to Telasco Segovia, who quickly touched it back to Jordi Alba for an eventual cross that Falcon met at the goal box.
Chicho Arango scored San Jose’s equalizer 1 ½ minutes later, and Falcon contributed it upon passing the ball back to goalkeeper Oscar Ustari. A clearing attempt was cut off by Christian Espinoza, who slid a centering pass to a wide open Arango for his team-high ninth goal this season, one off Tai Baribo’s MLS lead.
Arango didn’t stay much longer, with a left-leg injury forcing him out in the 31st minute for Amahl Pellegrino.
The Earthquakes went ahead 2-1 on rookie Beau Leroux’s blast from just beyond the top of the penalty box in the 37th minute. That sequence started with Vitor Costa’s centering pass richocheted off Ian Harkes then defender Sergio Busquets to Leroux, a San Jose native.
Miami pulled even in the 44th minute, when Tadeo Allende kicked in a close-range shot past Daniel at the far post. It was Messi’s pass at midfield that expedited things, and it elicited a “Messi” chant from the crowd after Allende’s goal.
San Jose snuck ahead 3-2 just before halftime, courtesy of Ian Harkes’ left-footed shot from atop the penalty box and inside the left post. Leroux was credited with the assist, on Harkes’ first goal with the Earthquakes.
An offside call nullified a go-ahead goal by Espinoza in the 62nd minute. Two minutes later, Messi got caught offside on a breakaway attempt while Munie rushed in to steal the ball.
With twenty minutes to go, amid a 3-3 duel, the concessions stands and notorious north-end bar were empty as eyes were fixated on the game. Some fans chanted Messi’s name, and Earthquake supports tried to drown out that hum.
Messi didn’t exactly parachute in unnoticed ahead of his first Bay Area game since a 2009 friendly at Candlestick Park between FC Barcelona and Chivas de Guadalajara. Hundreds of fans congregated outside Inter Miami’s Santana Row hotel 3 miles from PayPal Park to get a glimpse of Messi the previous few days, and he obliged by waving to them from an upper-floor balcony.
MLS commissioner Don Garber, in pregame media session, commended what he termed a “club question” why this game stayed at San Jose’s 18,000-seat venue rather than shift it to a larger venue. That said, Levi’s Stadium and Stanford Stadium are undergoing renovation; the Oakland Coliseum will host Mexico and Japan in a friendly match Sept. 6.
“I give them a lot of credit. They could have easily moved this and had a significantly greater revenue night,” Garber said. “They put in their stadium to show their fans and future fans what engaging with the ‘Quakes can be.”
Garber noted that he arrived late – though still over 90 minutes before kickoff – because of traffic issue that he credited to “all the energy and activity.”
“People forget this was one of our first soccer-specific stadiums at a time when the model hadn’t been proven right,” Garber added. “It was important to bring this team back (from Houston). If not for John and his family, there wouldn’t be a pro men’s team or MLS team here in this region. The club has momentum.”
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