The bad form in bad weather continued for the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday at Avaya Stadium. No, the game was not played in freezing weather with a light snow falling. But for California standards, especially during the drought, the weather was anything from perfect.
On the pitch coach Dominic Kinnear had his own drought to worry about. After winning two games in a row, the Earthquakes dropped a tough game in New England before coming back home to face Real Salt Lake. Even early in the season the Earthquakes needed to take advantage of RSLs lack of chemistry early in the season and find a way to end the game with some points. The Earthquakes know all about extra points at the end of the season after missing out on the 2013 playoffs based on goal differential.
Coach Kinnear sent his team out in a formation that had Chris Wondolowski and Adam Jahn up top. Innocent Emeghara was playing the midfield in a wing position, one that is not his natural place on the pitch. The start for Jahn was the most peculiar. After a great preseason Jahn has not found the back of the net so far this season. I would have prefered to see Emeghara up next to Wondo and Shea Salinasg. Salinas has been one the Earthquakes most creative players the last couple of seasons, those seasons played without a second scoring threat like Innocent Emeghara.
Both teams struggled to find any rhythm in the first half, with neither team producing a strong scoring opportunity. In the 43rd minute Innocent Emeghara was given yellow card for a foul just outside the Earthquakes box giving RSL the most dangerous chance of the half. Javier Morales smashed a shot that bounced off the Earthquakes wall and right back to Morales. This time Morales’ shot ricocheted off the crossbar and into the back of David Bingham’s net. Strangely this seemed to push the momentum in the way of San Jose, with the Earthquakes creating multiple chances the next 5 minutes. The best opportunity saw Jahn in front of an out of place Nick Rimando, but the 6’3” forward was caught flat footed and only allowed a backheel flick which went just wide. The team played better in the second half, but still could not create that chance that would tie the score.
Coach Kinnear has an extraordinary task in finding a combination of players that has the best balance during the MLS season especially in the grueling Western Conference. This game showed their is still a way to go until that correct mix is found. Can the Earthquakes come together before they fall too far down in the standings to be relevant in the second half of the season? After five games it looks concerning, the next five games will paint a clearer picture of what the rest of the season might look like.
In the meantime, the Earthquakes are getting ready for next Saturday when they host the team playing the best soccer in the league, Whitecaps FC. The Whitecaps have a mid-week game against Columbus that might give the Earthquakes a chance to take advantage of a tired squad.
