This Saturday at Gillette Stadium, the San Jose Earthquakes had to deal with something that hasn’t been an issue at home the last several years, inclement weather. The Quakes came in riding a two game winning streak after breaking a club record 16 game scoreless streak that finally came to an end in Seattle on March 14. The trio of Chris Wondolowski, Innocent Emeghara, and Matias Perez Garcia are getting to know each other better every week and the score sheet is looking better as a result. The Quakes came out in the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Wondo at the top, they have been using the last couple of games with great success. Dominic Kinnear’s squad had all week to come up with a way to come out of Gillette Stadium with 3 points, but the weather quickly made those plans obsolete. And while the Quakes struggled to get into form in the cold, the Revolution played like a team used to playing soccer with a light snow falling.
Quakes Drop a Cold One in Foxborough
The Quakes are no strangers to playing from behind and did improve their play in the second half, after the Revs had built a 2 goal lead. The improved play proved inconsistent and they were able to manage only a couple of shots that really tested the Revolution defense and keeper Bobby Shuttleworth. In the 62nd minute defender Clarence Goodson was fouled on the edge of the 18 and while the Revs protested, referee Jose Carlos Rivero pointed to the penalty spot. In MLS play rarely does Chris Wondolowski miss a scoring opportunity and this time he netted his 3rd goal of the season with a powerful shot to the bottom right corner of the net. The Quakes would manage a couple more shots before the final whistle, but nothing too threatening.
Any points would of course be the prefered outcome, but when games are played in such poor weather sometimes just finishing the game without any injuries is a positive outcome. Defender Marvell Wynne did have to be substituted in the 55th minute with what looked like a hamstring injury. He had been favoring it for several minutes and looked like he might have just needed to warm up a bit, but ultimately it looked like the better choice was to pull him out of the game. Hopefully the injury is minor and Marvell is ready to join the team soon. Another scary moment happened in the 79th minute when goalkeeper David Bingham collided with Goodson. The head-to-head impact seemed to knock the Quakes keeper out for a couple of seconds but the 6’ 2” 25-year-old was quickly back on his feet and stayed in the game.
4 games into Kinnear era 2.0 it is clear to see that the product on the pitch has been greatly improved. Wondo, Innocent, and MPG are finding a rhythm and causing defenses fits and the young keeper Bingham is finding ways to communicate with his defense and keep the ball out of the net. Finishing in the top 6 of the Western Conference still looks like a long-shot but it is clear to see that this is not the same team from last year that scored the least amount of goals in team history. A difficult test waits for them at home this week in Real Salt Lake. A win against them and Avaya Stadiums reputation builds, along with the momentum that will be needed for the upcoming summer of soccer.
