SJ Earthquakes 2-0 Columbus Crew

Saturday June 7th, 2008
MLS - Match 10

Crew Stadium, Columbus, OH

Attendance: 11,704

Quakes Get Revenge at Columbus

Saturday June 7th, 2008

Heading into tonight’s match against the Crew in Columbus the situation looked grave for the San Jose Earthquakes. They were without regulars Kei Kamara, Ivan Guerrero and Nick Garcia. They were coming off an ugly 3-1 loss at Salt Lake and were on the road again. However, the team showed tremendous toughness and heart by taking all three points with a hard fought 2-0 win.

Columbus had not scored in league play since they defeated San Jose at Buck Shaw 3-2 back on May 10th and were desperate for points themselves. The Crew surely will be feeling they wasted the match tonight. Although they created more chances they still could not get a goal while San Jose buried their opportunities with authority.

The match started off slowly with neither team able to settle into any kind of rhythm. Frank Yallop made several changes in his starting line up from last week’s set up in Utah. First he put John Cunliffe in at forward, for Jovan Kirovski. Next, he slid Kelly Gray into defensive Midfield for Joe Vide, which allowed Ramiro Corrales to play on the left flank. Lastly, he was forced to move Jason Hernandez over to center Back for Garcia and insert James Riley in at right Back. The changes did seem to solidify the defensive shape and presence of the team and San Jose scored an early goal when Columbus had seen more of the ball. The goal came off of a cross from the right by Ronnie O’Brien who put it right onto the head of a leaping Ryan Johnson who powered home a header past Will Hesmer. Ex-Galaxy defender Ezra Hendrickson was badly out jumped for the ball. The goal gave the Quakes a massive psychological lift and you could see the players believed they could get a result on the road. Obviously, Yallop had drilled into the team to not let Guillermo Barros Schelotto have time and space and to get physical with him and Robbie Rogers since both players had been instrumental in the Crew’s win in the first encounter between the sides.

San Jose did not have many more opportunities during the first half and made sure to foul the Crew early and often. John Cunliffe went in late on Chad Marshall and shortly thereafter Marshall subbed off, still stinging from an earlier blow to the back of the neck. Rookie Andy Iro had to take his place in the center of a back line that was already without former Quake Danny O’Rouke. In the 33rd minute James Riley body checked Robbie Rodgers at midfield sending the youngster to the turf and picking up his first yellow card of the evening. Riley was not going to let Rogers blow past him like he did back in May. In the 35th minute Crew defender Jed Zayner hit a 25-yard blast off the crossbar and the Quakes breathed a sigh of relief. San Jose was not able to add to their advantage as Columbus earned a slew of free and corner kicks. Often the service was nice by Schelotto but no one for the Crew could finish and Cannon controlled the box. In the 44th minute an unlucky Colombus team was forced to burn another one of their subs when Ezra Hendrickson had to come off due to an apparent groin strain. The half ended with San Jose leading in goals, 1-0, and fouls committed, 10-3.

The next half Columbus came out and again was able to create chances, earn free kicks and enjoy more possession but they could not break through the stout Quakes defense. Schelotto, easily the most technically gifted player on the pitch, attempted various tricks and flicks but he tended to take one too many touches and lose the ball. Perhaps he did not receive enough support from his teammates.

As the minutes passed the Earthquakes confidence grew with the Crew’s frustration and then in the 60th minute San Jose struck again. Ronnie O’Brien took a free kick from a few yards outside of the right side of the Columbus penalty area. It was the first real chance of the half for the Quakes and they made no mistake as Ramiro Corrales placed his header into the back of the net. It was another assist for O’Brien, another goal against the run of play and it resulted in a creative celebration that seemed inspired by a Captain Morgan’s television commercial.

The next half hour San Jose turned in their grittiest defensive performance of the season. The Crew had most of the possession but the Quakes refused to allow them time and space and did not hesitate to foul to break up any attack that appeared to be gaining momentum. The referee eventually began to punish the fouls with cards as Eric Denton entered the book for a whack to Schelotto who by this point seemed to be spending more time on the ground or complaining to the referee then playing the match. In the 66th minute another former Quake, Alejandro Moreno, attempted the “arm of god” by using his left bicep to put the ball into the goal. It was obvious and resulted in a yellow card. A smiling Moreno pointed to his shoulder but no one was fooled.

In the 69th minute Kelly Gray, who had looked solid all game in the center of the park, shouldered Rogers to the grass, directly into a sliding Riley. It could have gotten Riley sent off but instead it was Gray who took the booking. The game wore on with each Columbus attack blunted by the Quake’s physical approach. Usually it was Heyduk, Rogers, or Schelotto suffering the fouls and their exasperation mounted. Eddie Gaven came on for Emmanuel Ekpo as the Crew used their final substitute in the 74th minute. The Quakes had everyone behind the ball and would not let the Crew through. San Jose continued to do all the little things to kill off the match. A late and high challenge by the Crew’s Brad Evans produced a straight red card in the 80th minute and then James Riley earned his second yellow of the match for a hard kick to Rogers. The final minutes were played out with only 10 men on the field for each side and fittingly the game ended with an acrobatic save by Cannon to stop Roger’s full volley in the box.

San Jose left the field a more mature team as they showed the ability to evolve, adapt and learn from their previous matches. They kept their third clean sheet of the season and now they head back to the Bay where they will face the hated LA Galaxy in a week’s time. The final tally had San Jose winning 2-0 and out fouling the Crew 21 to 10. The Earthquakes proved tonight that they can win ugly and do whatever it takes to get a result on the road.

Ben Sizemore (email)

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Goals: Ryan Johnson (10th, Assist: Ronnie O'Brien), Ramiro Corrales (60th, Assist: Ronnie O'Brien)

Officials: Ricardo Salazar - Assistants: Greg Barkey; Peter Manikowski - 4th: Hilario Grajeda

Attendance: 11,704

Yellow cards: 

Crew: Alejandro Moreno (Deliberate Handball, 67th), Robbie Rogers (Professional Foul, 76th)

SJE: James Riley (Professional Foul, 33rd), Ryan Cochrane (Professional Foul, 65th), Kelly Gray (Tackle from Behind, 69th), Eric Denton (Professional Foul 82nd), James Riley (Reckless Foull, 85th)

Red cards: 

Crew: Brad Evans (Serious Foul Play, 80th)

SJE: James Riley (second yellow card)

Lineups:

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