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Playoffs still in reach for San Jose Earthquakes ahead of Vancouver clash

By on October 2, 2015

The San Jose Earthquakes’ playoff hopes had been slipping away. During the club’s four-match winless run last month, there were very few positives to take away from losses to Philadelphia, Montreal, and NYC FC and a home draw against Seattle.  By last week, Dominic Kinnear knew that only a win over Real Salt Lake last weekend could keep their playoff hopes alive. You can bet that that’s the only thing the Quakes roster had been hearing for the best part of the month, too, which is why the euphoria of a last-minute winner swept Matias Perez Garcia off his feet. In no uncertain terms, it was the goal that enabled the Quakes to live to fight another day.

Yet as soon as Garcia whipped off his shirt in celebration, he realized that he was already on a yellow card and the ensuing red would suspend him from the Quakes’ meeting with the Vancouver Whitecaps tomorrow night. The same must-win pressure from last Sunday will repeat this weekend, with just three games to go in the Quakes’ regular season campaign. Yet this time, Kinnear won’t have Garcia to bail him out at the dying breath. Might the goal’s very celebration have been the kiss of death for the Quakes?

Garcia’s suspension isn’t Kinnear sole cause for concern, as Fatai Alashe and Marc Pelosi’s additional absences for Olympic Qualifying duty have added to the pressure.

Bright spots remain, however, as Clarence Goodson and Victor Bernardez return as a centerback pairing for the first time since facing Seattle, promising a solid back-line. Cordell Cato excelled in Garcia’s place on the right wing throughout August and should seamlessly step right back into the starting lineup.

The only question mark hovers over Anibal Godoy’s partner in the middle. Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi, the natural backup to Alashe and Pelosi, is sidelined with injury and although Tommy Thompson, a homegrown fan-favorite, is certainly capable of holding his own weight in MLS, forcing him into Kinnear’s preferred double pivot midfield partnership is a stretch. However, he’ll have Godoy to support him.

“The one constant has been Godoy in there, being a partner,” Kinnear said at training this week, per MLSSoccer.com . “I think it makes their job a little bit easier. It’s not like our whole midfield is gone, which is a positive. No matter who that player is, the expectations can’t be different. You have to let that player know that this is what’s expected. I think they understand that there has to be a certain amount of bite, a certain amount of ground to be covered. Physically, you have to be on top of your game.”

As Kinnear might point out himself, he doesn’t have much hair left to lose from worrying and his experience in the art of the playoff push might just be as useful as anything on the tactical side.

The bigger question is who can pull the rabbit out of the hat with a goal for the home side this time around. The last time Vancouver visited Avaya in early April, it was Sanna Nyassi’s bolt that separated the two teams. Vancouver have one of the most potent offenses in the league but with just five goals in their past seven games, haven’t been as clinical in recent weeks and as a result lost their spot atop the Western Conference to the L.A. Galaxy.

At this point in the season, most of the stories have already been written, but can the Quakes add another storyline with an unexpected playoff run?

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.