SJ Earthquakes 4-0 New England Revolution

Saturday August 16th, 2008
MLS - Match 20

Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

2 weeks after their convincing performance at the Coliseum against the Los Angeles Galaxy (3-2 win), the San Jose Earthquakes were returning in their real home stadium tonight for another big game against the New England Revolution, leader of the Eastern Conference.

Two weeks without a game could have been seen as a confidence breaker (San Jose had not lost in the last four games and was improving their level of performances week after week). But it was also a great opportunity for the 4 latest signings (Francisco Lima, Darren Huckerby Scott Sealy and Arturo Alvarez) to finally settle in their new environment and get used to playing with their new teammates after the crazy schedule they had to face right after joining the Earthquakes.

Ronnie O'Brien (here with Jay Heaps) scored 2 goals tonight - Photo: Nap - The Project FC

Surprisingly, they showed a good cohesion against David Beckham's team already and two more weeks of work could only make things even better. But this still needed to be confirmed on the field.

The fans were quickly reassured on this point. While New England was trying to win possession, the Quakes were quickly moving the ball forward, putting together some quality sequences and great combinations.

On one of them, after almost all the players touched the ball, Lima at the 18 chipped the ball to the right above the Revs' defenders into Ronnie Obrien's run who instantly volleyed and lobbed Revolution's Goalkeeper Matt Reis (1-0, 11')

After taking the lead, San Jose decided to wait in their own half for counterattack opportunities. They had a few and, more importantly, New England showed their inability to accelerate and be dangerous.

The visitors had their chance though, in the first 20 minutes of the second half. The Earthquakes looked asleep when they came back from the locker room after the break. Adam Cristman had the best opportunity fir his team in the 60th minute when he volleyed a corner kick coming from the right.

However, the Revs showed no creativity and never really seemed able to provoke dangerous situations in the Quakes' box. The Revolution has had a couple of bad results lately and they definitely didn't look like a leader tonight.

The Earthquakes slowly took back the control of the game and in the 60th minute, after receiving a good pass from O'Brien, Scott Sealy controlled and heeled the ball to Johnson who was not offside and just had Doug Warren to beat (2-0, 71' - Warren had replaced the injured Reis 15 minutes earlier)

The game then turned to a nightmare for the visitors. They seemed to completely give up and, five minutes later, Darren Huckerby, on a counter attack perfectly played a 3-against-2 situation. Attracted by Johnson's run to the left, the two defenders left Sealy all alone on the right. Huckerby saw him and waited the right moment to pass him the ball. Alone in front of Warren, Sealy didn't miss the target (3-0, 76th)

Scott Sealy in front of Jay Heaps - Photo: Nap - The Project FC

After his goal, Sealy ran toward the Ultras and jumped into their arms to celebrate his first goal and show he now felt home in San Jose.

This was more than the fans could ask but they were still going to have more. Three minutes before the end, O'Brien offered them a beautiful final gift: a splendid left footed shot from 20 yards on the right that ended up in the opposite top corner of Warren's goal.

The Quakes celebrate after the first of their four goals - Photo: Nap - The Project FC

Next week, the Earthquakes go to Los Angeles to play Chivas. After 5 games without losing and a level of performance in the last three games much higher than they could have even imagined just a few weeks ago, there are good reasons to be optimistic for the rest of the season, and the idea of making the playoffs doesn't sound totally unrealistic anymore in San Jose!

Thierry Heumann (email)

For videos of the San Jose Ultras celebrating after the game, Click Here!

Statistics

Attendance: 9,859

Goals:

SJ: Ronnie O'Brien (11', Assist: Francisco Lima) Ryan Johnson (71', Assist: Scott Sealy), Scott Sealy (76', Assist: Darren Huckerby), Ronnie O'Brien, (87', Assist: Darren Huckerby)

Yellow Cards:

SJ: Eric Denton (Professional Foul, 35'), Nick Garcia (Repeated Fouls, 39'), Ronnie O'Brien (Language Abuse, 78')

NE: Chris Tierney (Reckless Foul, 16'), Khano Smith (Language Abuse, 70')

Stats:

SJ: Shots 14; Shots on Goal 9; Saves 6; Fouls 8; Offsides 5; Corner Kicks 4.

NE: Shots 11; Shots on Goal 6; Saves 5; Fouls 11; Offsides 2; Corner Kicks 6.