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SJ Earthquakes, RSL down to business

By on April 5, 2015

A theme has emerged locally of turning Avaya Stadium into a fortress. Not only is the San Jose Earthquakes’ new stadium a brilliantly engineered, state of the art venue, but the Quakes aim to make it a tough place to play, as well. “We want to protect this house because we take pride in it because we believe it is ours — the community’s and the fans’,” said Quakes veteran Chris Wondolowski.

So far, the Quakes are undefeated at their new ground. Everything — both on the pitch and off it — ran perfectly in a “test run” preseason win over the LA Galaxy, and two early goals in a win over the Chicago Fire did justice to a glamorous regular season opener. Now, the Quakes will get down to business.

Dominic Kinnear’s men have promised much, but patchy inconsistency has plagued them early in the MLS season. The Quakes lost to the New England Revolution last weekend and also suffered defeat in their season opener at FC Dallas. The Earthquakes proved their potential in a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Sounders, but defensive woes have troubled them throughout.

The Bay Area team have allowed six goals in their first four matches, having used three different back-lines. All too often, rookie David Bingham has bailed them out at the back. As US international Clarence Goodson returns from injury, Paulo Renato, Ty Harden, and Victor Bernandez will be left to fight for the remaining center-back slot. Otherwise, Shaun Francis and Marvell Wynne have been fixtures on either side of the center-backs.

“I feel good. I think it was great to get ninety minutes in and it has taken a long time, so I was very happy to get back out there. It has been a long journey (coming back from injury).” — Quakes center-back Clarence Goodson

In their losses, the Quakes midfield has struggled to control possession and dictate play. On the positive side, however, Matias Perez Garcia has terrorized back-lines with his creativity and set-pieces, earning special praise from Kinnear, floating around the midfield, while youngsters Fatai Alashe and JJ Koval rooted the Quakes’ 4-2-3-1 on their day; again, though, the issue remains consistency from a young pair.

“Garcia delivers a great ball. I’ve been really happy with Matias. I thought tonight on the ball, the guy picks the right pass and he’s a really intelligent player. His set piece delivery is up there with the best of them.” — Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear on Garcia

However, if anything can drive the Quakes on, it is Avaya Stadium. Wondoloski credited the Quakes’ win against Chicago to such last weekend while Goodson told Football Every Day: “It seemed like the supporters section swept over the entire stadium. Everyone was alive and that is the atmosphere you want at home.”

Wondolowski has achieved critical acclaim from opposition recently, but will have a job on his hands to get past Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando, a Major League Soccer veteran whose recent form earned him his first World Cup selection at the age of thirty-four. If push comes to shove (literally), then 6′ 3” Adam Jahn has proved he provides incredible aerial prowess as a substitute. Innocent Emeghara has also starred down the left wing.

But to start one run, the Quakes will have to end another — they have only beaten RSL once in their last six meetings since 2013. USMNT midfielder Kyle Beckerman will be a lynchpin in RSL’s starting lineup, while Javier Morales will be a danger man up front, with two assists in RSL’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC last weekend.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.