SAN JOSE — An unexpected back-heel into the net didn’t just lead to another Earthquakes’ disappointment Saturday night at Avaya Stadium.
Kevin Ellis’ fluky goal in the 81st minute all but doomed San Jose’s chances of qualifying for the MLS Cup playoffs in Sporting Kansas City’s 2-1 victory in front of an announced crowd of 18,000.
On a night the team might have lost starting forward Quincy Amarikwa for the rest of the season to a serious knee injury, the Quakes (7-9-13, 34 points) extended their winless streak to six games.
The defeat makes any thoughts of advancing to the postseason that much more difficult with a game looming Wednesday in Montreal and another next weekend at Avaya. Sporting (12-12-7, 43 points) moved into fifth place with six Western Conference teams reaching the playoffs.
The Quakes haven’t won since August 12, putting them in a hole as big as the Bingham Canyon Mine pit.
“It was always going to be tough even before this game,” midfielder Fatai Alashe said.
With five games left in the regular season, the Earthquakes probably will miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.
Their chances took a beating before the 20-second mark when Amarikwa hyperextended his right knee while breaking for the goal on a strong early attack.
The plucky forward is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday, but “I know I tore something,” he told this newspaper Saturday night. “It was a case of bad timing.”.
The frustrating night started with the Quakes’ most ardent supporters choosing not to attend the game, a team spokesperson said. The move came after the Ultras support group was banned from using banners for the rest of the season, according to a letter from Earthquakes officials dated Sept. 15.
Team officials disciplined the group after an incident Sept. 10 during the Seattle game, according to the letter that was posted online and confirmed by the spokesperson.
The disheartening night was reflected in an almost-empty locker room before reporters were allowed inside.
“It’s an all-mighty blow to our position,” defender Jordan Stewart said. “It’s bitterly disappointing.”
Stewart also had to depart in the first half after tweaking a hamstring muscle. He doesn’t expect to be ready for Wednesday’s game, but will know more after getting a scan Monday.
At a time the Quakes need to be at their best, they also don’t have midfielder Anibal Godoy, who missed his fourth consecutive game Saturday because of a hamstring muscle strain.
Still, the Quakes had their chances by outshooting Sporting 16-6. Kansas City converted its only two shots on target, San Jose made one of its four.
The lack of scoring is why Kansas City won in the Bay Area for the first time since 2000. But that’s not how the game started.
It took only 17 seconds for San Jose to mount a serious threat that ended with Chris Wondolowski’s blistering shot blocked by goalkeeper Tim Melia.
But Amarikwa also went down during the sequence. Coach Dominic Kinnear immediately sent out newcomer Henok Goitom to replace him.
Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute when Dom Dwyer headed in his 15th goal of the season off a free kick from Paulo Nagamura.
The Earthquakes equalized in the 42nd minute on Simon Dawkin’s fourth goal of the season. All the credit goes to Goitom, who got past defender Nuno Coelho near the goal line to draw Melia out of the box.
Goitom backpedaled the ball to Dawkins for an easy tap in.
But the Quakes couldn’t replicate the effort — just like much of this dismal season.