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SJ Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy, Round Two preview

By on July 1, 2015

The San Jose Earthquakes play the LA Galaxy for the second time in a week tonight, but don’t expect a rematch. After a fiercely contested California Clasico at Stanford Stadium on Saturday night, in which the Earthquakes came back from behind to win 3-1, today’s US Open Cup fixture is a comparative afterthought.

“There’s going to be a lot of different players playing,” San Jose center-back Clarence Goodson told Football Every Day. “That’s the nature of the Open Cup. You’ll absolutely see two different [lineups].”

“It is going to be a bit strange, but I think Bruce goes from here to home to play Toronto so I’ll be surprised if he uses the same starting lineup and I’ll be surprised if we do too,” Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear said after the match.

Some changes are in fact forced upon the two teams with Gold Cup callups. For the Quakes, their top scorer Chris Wondolowski, who added to his tally at the weekend, will be leaving for his fifth consecutive tournament. The forward dragged the Quakes past Sacramento Republic in the last round, with two late goals taking the game to extra-time and eventually penalties, where the Quakes’ triumphed. He was also the first in the Quakes’ penalty lineup. “I wanted Wondolowski to go first, because you have a good feeling he’s going to make it,” Kinnear.

Given Wondo has tucked into an attacking-midfield role this season, Tommy Thompson is likely to get the start in his stead for tonight. Beyond that, Kinnear has some thinking to do. Indeed, it may prompt a formation change, most certainly for today’s game. Bryan Meredith, who saved two critical penalties in his first start of the season against Sacramento, should jump in goal for David Bingham while Cordell Cato is also likely to start in one last match at right-back before departing for Trinidad and Tobago’s Gold Cup squad, too. “You just put a downer on me, if it’s possible,” Kinnear said when the Quakes’ two looming absences were mentioned following the Clasico win.

Shaun Francis could start in the left-back position while Paulo Renato and JJ Koval, who has flirted with playing center-back instead his normal central-midfield position throughout the season, should slide in as center-backs. Khari Stephenson and Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi are likely to form a defensive midfielder pair in place of Fatai Alashe, while Leonardo Barrera and Sanna Nyassi should take their place on the flanks. Up top, either Adam Jahn or Mark Sherrod, who have split the majority of the time up front, will start. Clearly, Kinnear views them as similar players.  “There’s not much tactics going into putting in a six-foot-three guy for a six-foot-three guy,” he said of his halftime substitution of Jahn for Sherrod in the Clasico.

The Galaxy are handicapped, too.  Center-back Omar Gonzalaz and star forward Gyasi Zardes will both join Wondolowski on the US’ Gold Cup squad and starting goalkeeper Jaime Penedo is departing for Panama’s squad.  Other starters, including Robbie Keane and Juninho, will likely be rested as well ahead of a weekend fixture against Toronto FC.

Last weekend, the Quakes’ defence blunted the Galaxy’s attack but today, everything will be different.  Nonetheless, it’s an old, fierce rivalry and Kinnear doesn’t doubt the mentality of his squad.

“The one thing I’ve said and even to now, I love the attitude of the group. Seventeen games in I give these guys A-plus for mentality,” Kinnear said.  Adam Jahn told Football Every Day: “It’s going to be another battle…I don’t think it will disappoint.”

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.