The San Jose Earthquakes earned a point on the road in Toronto with a gritty performance on Saturday the 19th. The game was only televised on HDNet, a channel that few fans or pubs seem to receive at the moment. The three new quakes; Darren Huckerby, Francisco Lima and Scott Sealy, all made their debuts, with starts, despite only having a few practices with their teammates and although no goals were produced, the Quakes midfield seemed suddenly more dangerous and cohesive. Huckerby had several nice attacks from his wide left midfield position while Lima provided confidence and maturity at the center of the park. On one sequence in the 13th minute, Lima put Huckerby through. Toronto’s keeper Greg Sutton was quick off his line to barely beat Huckerby to the ball which traveled with more pace then intended due to the plastic pitch. The San Jose faithful hope that the two newcomers can combine again with frequency and success as the season rolls on. Sealy showed confidence as he partnered with Ryan Johnson up top but it was obvious that the two haven’t had enough time to practice together to develop any chemistry.
Toronto is one of the most difficult places to play in MLS this season. Their passionate fans pack the stadium and provide the home side with great support and the artifical turf, while not as hideous as the carpet found in the stadiums of Utah and New Jersey, is difficult for the away teams to perform on. San Jose in particular has had little success on artifical surfaces this season.
Toronto FC definitely had more chances to score in the match and they forced Cannon to make several big plays. San Jose had trouble keeping tabs on Toronto’s teen sensation Abdus Ibrahim who used his speed and moves to challenge the Quakes defense. Ibrahim sent a low skidding shot from outside the area just wide of the far post in the 7th minute. Amado Guevara missed a golden opportunity in the 33rd minute when a parried shot fell right to him and he blasted it high with cannon lying prone.
At the end of the day it took a brilliant save by San Jose MVP Joe Cannon on a penalty kick from Guevara in the 69th minute to keep the quakes even. The inexperienced referee awarded the penalty to Toronto when Johnson got tangled up with Ibrahim and both players went down while looking up at the high ball that had been sent into the box. However, Eric Denton was first to the ball and headed it away making any contact just after between Johnson and Ibrahim meaningless. There was no ball there to be won anymore. Luckily for the Quakes Cannon guessed correctly and blocked Guevara’s shot. An alert James Riley cleared the danger and despite not creating many chances in the game, and again failing to score any goals, the Quakes hung on for the draw.
If the season is to be salvaged for San Jose then the team must win against New York in Santa Clara on Sunday, July 27. The new trio will be expected to produce in front of the home fans despite their lack of training. Expect them to continue to start. The team desperately needs goals and a win on Sunday. A loss would be devastating for the club and a tie wouldn’t be much better. Time is beginning to run out but with the new players there is a new hope that a playoff berth can be attained.
Ben Sizemore (email)
Attendance: 20,264
Yellow Cards:
TOR: Abdus Ibrahim (Delaying a restart, 18')
SJ: Jason Hernandez (Pushing, Holding, 26')
San Jose Line-up:
Ryan Johnson
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Scott Sealey
(John Cunliffe, 90'+4)
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Darren Huckerby
(Kei Kamara, 64') |
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Francisco Lima
(Kelly Gray, 63') |
Ronnie O'Brien |
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Eric Denton |
Jason Hernandez |
Ryan Cochrane |
James Riley
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Joe Cannon |
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