SJ Earthquakes 0-3 LA Galaxy

Saturday June 14th, 2008
MLS - Match 11

MC Afee Coliseum, Oakland, CA

Attendance: 39,872

Saturday June 14th, 2008

The rhythm was not very high but both teams had one great opportunity: The Galaxy first, who hit the post by Ely Allen (19th) and San Jose by John Cunliffe who missed an incredible opportunity, alone in front of the goal after a great move on the right wing involving Ronnie O'Brien and Ryan Johnson.

0-1 - half time. The Earthquakes were not playing so badly, but they couldn't really put the Galaxy in trouble (except on the move mentioned above). LA was not really dominating but everybody was feeling that they could score at any time.

The local fans had the nice surprise to see their team come back from the locker room with much more energy and offensive intentions. From this period, Frank Yallop said at the press conference after the game "we were coming back into the game and the second goal killed us". True, they were clearly dominating and the Galaxy didn't seem to be dangerous anymore. But between this good period and the second goal something else happened: Adam Smarte, who had been perfect so far (not only doing his defensive job very well, but also participating in a lot of offensive moves) was replaced by Joe Vide (56th).

We are not going to blame Frank Yallop for that move because right before he did the substitution, Smarte showed some signs of tiredness, staying a few seconds with his hands on his knees after an offensive move, instead of running back to his defensive position...more than enough to get your coach worried about keeping you on the field. It was probably time to sub him and Yallop did not have any other player able to play right back on the bench, which automatically lead to a new organization. But this is probably what killed the Quakes, before the second goal.

This famous second goal came in the 63rd minute when Edson Buddle buried a cross from Ante Jazic...from the right side of the Quakes defense, 6 minutes after Smarte left the field!

The Quakes then tried to attack in a disorganized way and the Galaxy logically scored a third goal 5 minutes later by...Edson Buddle again.

His hat trick costs a lot to the Earthquakes who kept telling us last week that they needed a win tonight. To complete the dark picture, Ryan Cochrane had to leave the field before the end of the game, apparently injured.*

On the bright side, with 39,872 fans in the stands, the Earthquakes played in front of their second largest crowd ever!

San Jose will now play 4 matches away and will return to Buck Shaw on July 12th against the Colorado Rapids.

Thierry Heumann (email) - Photo: Nap: The Project FC

* He was replaced by Jamil Roberts whose appearance was his first and he had the privilege to play against his brother, Troy, who replaced David Beckham for the last 2 minutes of the game!

Another Disappointing Performance for San Jose

The San Jose Earthquakes lost 3-0 to the LA Galaxy thanks to a hat trick by Edson Buddle. The Galaxy was playing without forwards Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz but the Quakes were unable to capitalize on the situation.

“Three quality strikes by Edson was the difference and the service to him was very good,” stated Earthquakes Coach Frank Yallop. “It would be nice to have Edson on our team right now.” San Jose was without several key players as well. Nick Garcia was hurt, James Riley was suspended and Kei Kamara and Ivan Guerrero were away on national team duty. “I think we miss Kei a little bit, you know Kei was just starting to get going, he scored the goal against Houston and now he’s away for five weeks.” Still Yallop refused to use the relative thinness of his squad as an excuse. “We had some chances to score but couldn’t finish. John Cunliffe really should have made it 1-1 to be honest and I think that was the easiest chance of the half.”

Yallop does feel his team is better than it might appear. “You got to look at 11 games and how we’ve done. We’ve played better than maybe the points have showed which is good but in the end in this league you’ve got to get points. I saw a response at halftime from the team, no matter who’s playing and that was a positive but obviously I’m very disappointing to lose at home by any margin, let alone 3-0.”

“We couldn’t figure out the game tonight. I think Abel Xavier did a good job on Ryan Johnson and kind of nullified his power and pace and stopped us from getting that thrust from Ryan that we normally get,” Yallop continued.

“We’ve still got a chance. We’re not miles adrift from the top of the table. There is still something to shoot for, to try and get into the playoffs at the end of the season but we’ve obviously got to get more points with these types of games at home,” Yallop concluded.

“I’m happy with the development of Edson Buddle. It’s his second hat trick of the season.” Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit was justifiably happy about his squad’s game and also about the progress of some of his team’s lesser known players. “The best example for improvement was on the third goal. Mike Randolph, he crossed the ball, we practiced that a lot. He practiced on certain things and delivered it in the game.”

Edson Buddle was all smiles at the post game conference. “The chances were there all night and we were able to capitalize.” When asked about his recent excellent form he was humble, “It comes with training, it comes with a lot of repetition. I think repetition is the key to getting in a good groove.” When asked if he thought his play might earn him a call up to US Men’s National Team he had some thoughts. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in that camp. It would be nice. Some of my goals are to play at that level but right now my focus is on my club team here.”

David Beckham was the last to speak at the post game press conference and it seems like he fielded more questions than Yallop, Gullit and Buddle combined. The room was unnaturally bloated with reporters who don’t usually cover the beautiful game and whose employers rarely give MLS any coverage at all.

In fact, many of the questions posed to the most famous player in MLS actually had nothing to do with the game that had just been completed but Mr. Beckham very politely answered them all anyway. For instance he feels that Sven will be good for Mexico and that the Mexican players will like him and learn from him. We learned that Becks had recently bought Posh a vineyard in Napa for her birthday, evidently the kids like to pick grapes, but they won’t tell us when they’ll be there. We heard again that Beckham’s hero growing up was Bryan Robson and we learned that he feels literally sick when he tries to watch the Euro 2008 since he and England failed to qualify.

Some brave journalists actually asked about the evening’s win over the quakes. “I think it was great. We had a good training session yesterday before we left. We was passing about like we was tonight with 1-2 touch. Tonight we’ve got the consistency and its carried on from the game before.” As for three goal hero Buddle, Beckham had nothing but praise. “Edson is an individual that is getting better at the game and he’s a player that works hard at it so he’s going to get better. He’s proved that tonight and he’s proved that in other games. He’s proved that he is a handful, he’s a big lad and he’s strong and can cause many problems without scoring goals.”

By the time the post game press conference had concluded the Earthquakes players had all left the building so there were not any available in the locker room for interviews. Obviously, they must not have been eager to stick around late to talk to the press after another bitter defeat.

Unfortunately for San Jose they remain at the bottom of the table with a league low 9 goals scored. While there are still 19 matches left for the Quakes to play, they really need to start putting some wins together to have a realistic shot at making the playoffs and they can’t afford to keep dropping points at home to their conference rivals.

Despite the scoreline the Quakes looked better than they did in their season opener against the Galaxy and there were some encouraging signs. Adam Smarte played well at right back, he played with confidence and he did not look at all like a developmental player. Gray, O’Brien and Johnson all put in solid efforts and Salinas provided a spark when he came into the game yet it was not enough to even produce a consolation goal.

Two things were clearly illustrated tonight. First, the team’s defense is much more cohesive when Garcia plays. Second, the team still lacks that special player that can take over a game. LA seems to possess several of these players although only two were available to play against the Quakes.

Yallop hinted again that help might be on the way in the form of new signings, around July 15, yet the details remain to be seen. There has been a parade of trialists coming through but it’s unlikely that any of them are going to turn the team around on their own.

LA stands at the top of the west and while they might not be playing the total football that Gullit’s Dutch teams made famous they are stacked with offensive talent and are certainly playing the best that they have since winning the MLS Cup three years ago. They are a force to be reckoned with.

By Ben Sizemore(email)

Listen to Frank Yallop in the press conference after the game:

Listen to Ruud Gullit in the press conference after the game:

Listen to Edson Buddle and David Beckham in the press conference after the game:

Goals: Edson Buddle (6th, Assist: Josh Tudela), Edson Buddle (63rd, Assist: Ante Jazic), Edson Buddle (68, Assist: Mike Randolph).

Officials: Silviu Petrescu - Assistants: Daniel Belleau, Frank Anderson - 4th: Tim Weyland.

Attendance: 39,872

Yellow cards:

SJ: John Cunliffe (Reckless Foul, 39th), Adam Smarte (Reckless Foul, 45th), Ryan Johnson (Interference, 63rd)

LA: Ely Allen (Reckless Foul, 59th), Alvaro Pires (Reckless Foul, 62nd)

Lineups:

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