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Pressure mounts as SJ Earthquakes face playoff six-pointer with Seattle

By on September 11, 2015

The San Jose Earthquakes’ locker room post match provides a tangible feeling for the mood of the team — players and coaches being too weary to shield their emotions fully.  Following wins, upbeat music blares over the speakers and players confidently strut out for autographs and possibly a night out to celebrate. By contract, after the Quakes’ 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union last weekend, the frustration was palpable as the home side saw their four-game win streak ended by the 2nd worst team in the Eastern Conference, a side also missing several starters at the time.

The Quakes now need to restore their locker room confidence as they prepare to face the Seattle Sounders tomorrow night. Sigi Schmid’s men sit three points above the Quakes for the final playoff position in the Western Conference and with just seven games left in the regular season the rubber has met the road. Although the Quakes have a game in hand, Kinnear frequently reminds that those are only worth anything if you can win them.

Seattle come into San Jose with Clint Dempsey returning from international duty and Obafemi Martins also fit. There is no doubt that they’ll look to heap pressure onto the Quakes’ backline, which has been rocked by a hamstring injury to centerback Victor Bernandez suffered last weekend. I joined Colin Etnire and San Jose Mercury News reporter Elliot Almond after the Philly game to discuss, among things, the Bernandez injury and multiple lineup suggestions came up; with our podcast contingent favoring a shift of Marvell Wynne or Fatai Alashe into the centerback slot.

However, with Anibal Godoy and Marc Pelosi returning from international duty, the Quakes will have the necessary midfield cover and the ability to sit deep and soak up pressure. Despite last week’s disappointing loss, the Quakes’ shutout streak had reached an impressive 448 minutes before Conor Casey scored twice for Philly.

But it is the Quakes’ attack that most needs an injection of spark in the midfield. After the Philly loss, it was left to the few late stragglers in the Quakes’ dressing room to try to explain their struggles.

It’s easy to point fingers at Major League Soccer and its strategy to play during international breaks, as the Quakes had three key players (Godoy, Pelosi and Sanna Nyassi) away for last week’s match. As such, Dominic Kinnear was forced to start a central midfield pair of Matias Perez Garcia and Alashe, who only stayed behind because of injury and had just two full training sessions before playing the full ninety minutes against Philly. Cordell Cato also started on the wing having played an hour the previous day in Trinidad and Tobago’s draw with Mexico.

These absences, particularly that of Godoy, who provides the qualities of an experienced defensive midfielder that compliment Alashe wonderfully, helped explain the Quakes’ disjointed midfield play; but that’s not to say that the Quakes did themselves many favors. They were particularly sloppy on the ball and Chris Wondolowksi blamed a mental lapse, saying: “We have to learn from our mistakes. It’s too late in the season to be making those errors. We mentally turned off for two plays and we paid for that dearly; it lost us the game. We had turnovers that led to those chances. Lastly, you have to do a better job marking someone like Conor Casey. When he is open in the box like that, it is never good.”

Quakes center-back Clarence Goodson also lamented their marking on the second goal and labeled their overall defensive performance “bad.” Kinnear criticized the many turnovers riddled throughout the match.

At the other end of the pitch, credit was due to Philadelphia for locking down their defense but none of the Quakes players had the key to breaking through.

Not the winding runs of Shea Salinas’s down the wing that we’ve become accustomed to over the Quakes’ win streak, which were non-existent in the first half as Salians dropped into the midfield to help circulate the ball. Chris Wondolowski scored the Quakes’ only goal from the penalty spot, yet he too struggled to make an offensive impact. Of the Quakes’ eight shots, only two were on target and three from inside the box, whereas two of Philadelphia’s four shots on the night found their way into the back of the net.

They may see even fewer chances against Seattle, and as the league stretches into its latter stages, the margin for error has narrowed. Despite criticism of a somewhat inconsequential MLS regular season given that twelve teams qualify for the playoffs, given the Quakes position on the bubble, this is when the rubber meets the road and every single goal and point matters.

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.