Yannick Djalo marked his fourth MLS appearances with a match-winning goal for San Jose Earthquakes on the weekend.
The 27-year old Portuguese midfielder, who joined the Quakes from Benfica on loan in March, fired home the only goal of the match in the 66th minute against Chivas USA.
The former Sporting Lisbon man arrived at the far post to volley home Shea Salinas' leftwing cross to open his MLS account but it was his overall play which impressed head coach Mark Watson the most.
"Right from the start of the second half, he gave us that little spark, whether it was running at defenders or supporting the play with his runs," Watson told reporters of Djalo who came on at half-time after starting on the bench.
"The thing with him is that he has a good technical base, so he can get out of pressure. But he's most dangerous when he can get his legs going and really run."
As for the goal, Djalo himself was grateful to his teammates who helped create the strike with a positive build-up play.
"It was a great team play," Djalo told reporters through an interpreter. "Shea Salinas made a great pass to get it over to me and I was happy to be able to score, but it was the hard work of the team that score.
"The ball made the goal. I was wide open. I just had to focus, and put the ball in the corner."
Watch Djalo's goal below courtesy of MLSsoccer.com
