San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 NY Red Bulls

Signs Of Hope For Quakes

Sunday July 27th, 2008
MLS - Match 18

Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

Monday July 28, 2008

The final result read 1-1 and it was another draw for the San Jose Earthquakes at home. The team only has 3 wins on the season and it sits at the bottom of the Western Conference table. The offense has scored the least amount of goals in the league and the idea of the playoffs seems to be a farfetched fantasy at this point. Since there is no threat of relegation in MLS, it would be easy for the team to accept the situation.

Still, there are reasons for quakes fans to be hopeful. Three new ones in particular: Darren Huckerby, Francisco Lima and Scott Sealy. Each made their first home appearance Sunday as each started and all but Lima went the full 90 minutes. The difference in the Quakes’ play was noticeably positive as the team dominated the possession and created numerous chances. Indeed, it was Sealy’s ability to control the ball with his back to the goal, warding off the defender and then quickly turning to fire a low shot on frame that lead to the goal. Conway spilled the shot and Huckerby showed a poacher’s instinct by being first to the ball to tap it into the net from a yard away.  This type of play has not been a trademark of the Quakes so far the season so it was nice for the fans to see a goal produced in this manner, Sealy in particular showed strength and intelligence with the move, and it came just minutes after the Quakes had surrendered another own goal this season. This time left back Eric Denton was the culprit as he tried to finesse a header back to Cannon and sent it over the keeper and into the net. It was eerily similar to James Riley’s own goal at New England but the San Jose response was much different as they quickly produced the tying goal and played better soccer then New York for most of the afternoon.

Indeed, the Quakes had several great chances to win the match. The best probably came in the second half when Ryan Johnson dribbled into the right side of the New York penalty area. Huckerby had made a positive run of his own from the left and he was wide open, his arms waving as he called for the ball. If Johnson had delivered the pass it would have been an easy goal but unfortunately he didn’t lift his head and shot straight into Conway.

The type of run that Huckerby made has not been a staple of the Quakes’ attack so it’s understandable that Johnson did not see it, expect him to in the future. It’s obvious that Huckerby has a nose for the goal and that he will consistently be putting himself into attacking positions with well timed runs. Again, those types of runs haven’t been happening enough for San Jose so far this season.

As for Brazilian Francisco Lima, he simply held down the center of the midfield and had numerous nice passes to go along with a solid defensive presence. He even took some free kicks and his partnership with Ramiro Corrales continues to grow as they provided a solid base in front of the defense from which to begin attacks and stop New York’s forays forward.

Amazingly, both Lima and Huckerby were stuck in Toronto for most the week handling visa issues. It seems even the US government is involved in trying to stymie the Earthquakes efforts to win, so they still have barely practiced with their teammates. With a full week of practice in Santa Clara things will only continue to improve.

San Jose played some of its best soccer of the season in the match and was truly unlucky, once again, not to win. With the new signings on the field the Quakes play with more confidence, maturity and belief. Not to mention they were able to produce some much more attractive soccer for the fans. The team was fun to watch today and even though the end result was disappointing for the San Jose faithful, there were numerous positive signs from the team on the pitch.

Something else was noticeable about the players today, they weren’t afraid to mix it up with the opposition. Early in the match Ryan Johnson went in hard and clean in an effort to get his head on a 50/50 high ball against New York keeper Jon Conway. Conway caught the ball, and took a hit from the airborne Johnson in the process. The lanky keeper then tried a little shove into Johnson who immediately turned and got in Conway’s face, or chest, given the height difference. The Quakes forward showed he wasn’t going to back down and let the Red Bulls know that he was going in hard for any ball that he had a chance for, as well he should.

Late in the match Ramiro Corrales stood up to Carlos Mendes, after the Red Bull hacked him from behind in the middle of the field. Corrales may have even slightly head butted him, but it was great for the fans to see the intensity and even a little nastiness from the Quakes.

Nick Garcia had a few hard challenges that left the opposition upset, as he usually does, as the backline and Cannon produced another solid effort. Juan Pablo Angel, one of the best forwards in the league, was held in check the entire match and New York’s best chances came late in the game off counters as the Quakes threw numbers forward to go for the win. Again this willingness and ability to attack hasn’t always been on display for San Jose as too often the team has seemed to accept defeat or draws late in the match.

All combined it shows that the team is playing with urgency and an intensity that has not always been on display this season. Sometimes it has, such as on the road in Columbus, but too often it hasn’t, such as in the last match against the LA Galaxy.

Perhaps the new Quakes are helping to bring that competitive attitude to the team on a consistent basis and that should produce results down the stretch. It’s nice to see that the team doesn’t intend to go out without a fight and even if the playoffs are out of reach San Jose can still climb up a couple of rungs in the Western Conference standings.

Next Sunday the Earthquakes face long time nemesis LA with their superstars and designated players at the home of the Oakland Raiders. The Earthquake fans need to come out in force to support the team and to counteract the neutrals that will show up to see Beckham if they want San Jose to do well.

For the Quakes to win they will need to bring the toughness and the desire to attack that they displayed against New York. LA is a beatable team. Their big spending on Beckham, Donovan and Ruiz means they have a very suspect defense that is ripe to be exploited by the likes of the league’s newest English midfielder, Darren Huckerby.

Ben Sizemore (email)

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