New York Redbulls
0 - 3 San Jose Earthquakes
Ready...Already?
Saturday March 22th, 2008 - 8:15 p.m. (E.T.)
Carolina Challenge Cup - Final Match
Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, South Carolina
Saturday, March 22, 2008
For any expansion team, time is precious and the begining of the
season
always seems to come too early. Probably a lot of work remains to be
done for the Earthquakes' staff, but looking at the results
they have obtained so far, the fans would probably have
liked
the MLS season to start a month earlier with the victories
against Columbus, Toronto and New York counted in the MLS
tables.
In a little more than one month, the SJE have played 6 times
against MLS teams and their record shows 3 wins, 2 ties and 1 loss. Not
bad for an expansion franchise running out of time to build their
roster! Even more encouraging is the crescendo that the team showed in
their performances, starting with "an encouraging loss" (1) and (almost (2)) finishing with 2 convincing wins!
We could also add that they learn their lessons. Last Wednesday, it
took San Jose 10 minutes to wake up and realize they were playing a
match. It was enough for their opponents (Charleston Battery - USL-1 -
, host of the Carolina Challenge Cup) to take advantage of the
situation and take the lead. Tonight, probably expecting a stronger
opposition, not only they entered the field full of energy, but they
opened the score in the first minute, before the Red Bulls even touched
the ball! 5 Earthquakes players touched the ball on the kick-off,
before James Riley sent a long ball to Ivan Guerrero on the left wing.
Guerrero crossed the ball to the penalty spot where Kei Kamara, after
only 23 seconds, headed the ball out of reach of Jon Conway (NY
Goalkeeper)
The Red Bulls' 3-5-2 display was supposed to help them dominate the
Quakes in the midfield in order to keep possession of the ball.
Surprisingly, even after the goal, the pressure came from the
Earthquakes and New York couldn't keep possession of the ball. It took
only a few minutes to understand that San Jose was winning the battle
of the midfield. If a proof was needed, the Quakes provided it in the
33rd minute when a shot by Jason Hernandez concluded a fantastic
session of 17 consecutive passes keeping New York running after the
ball for 60 long seconds. If Hernandez had not missed the
target, it could have been the goal of the year!
Expected to improve their performance, the Red Bulls came back on
the field after the break in a 3-4-3 formation. They seemed more
comfortable and, for a few minutes, the quakes' midfielders seemed in
trouble, letting their defenders and Joe Cannon show their talent. A
few minutes only...After a beautiful shot by Juan Pablo Angel from the
18 yards, perfectly stopped by Cannon, James Riley sent a long
through ball in the run of Gavin Glinton who sprinted to push the ball
in the back of the net from inside the box before Conway had time to
pick it up (0-2, 49th)
New York then had a better period, taking possession of the ball
and creating a few chances, without really threatening the Quakes.
After the 60th minute, due to many interruptions (multiple
substitutions, fouls, injuries and yellow cards), the intensity of the
match decreased. New York did not seem able to really threaten the
Quakes who didn't need to force their talent to preserve their lead.
The
third goal came accidentaly after the referee gave the SJE an
unnecessary penalty. Zach Thornton (who replaced Conway 23 minutes
earlier) made a superb save on Corrales' shot... the ball came back to
Matt Taylor who crossed it in front of the goal into the feet of Eric
Brunner. The Red Bulls' defender, already unlucky enough to
provoke the penalty when the ball touched his arm after the corner
kick, pushed the ball in his own net! (0-3, 89th minute)
For the first time since the Challenge was created, a team wins its
3 matches. Starting in two weeks in Los Angeles (against David
Beckham's Galaxy), the Earthquakes will need to prove that this
convincing pre-season campaign reflects their real value. Things won't
always be as easy as they seemed to be in Charleston. New York was very
disapointing tonight, as was Toronto last week and playing the same
teams in the MLS could be a totally different
story. But at least, we now have every reason to believe the
team will be competitive and that many teams may be shaken by the
Quakes!
(1) "An Encouraging Loss" was our title after the first
match of the new Earthquakes on Feb. 13, 2008 (0-1 home Loss to Houston
Dynamo)
(2) While MLS season starts next week for most of the
teams, San Jose will play an ultimate friendly next Friday (7:30 pm) in
Portland against the Timbers (USL-1)
T.H.
Goals:
SJE: Kei Kamara (1st - Assist: Ivan Guerrero)
SJE: Gavin Glinton (49th - Assist: Jason Hernandez)
SJE: Eric Brunner (88th - Own Goal - Assist: Matt Taylor)
Misconduct Summary:
NYRB: Seth Stammler - Yellow card (reckless foul), 62nd
NYRB: Carlos Mendes - Yellow card (reckless foul), 63rd
SJE: Jamil Walker - Yellow Card (Reckless
Foul), 89th
Lineups:
New York Red Bulls: Jon Conway (Zach Thornton, 65th) - Kevin
Goldthwaite (Chris Leitch, 46th), Jeff Parke (Carlos Mendes, 46th),
Eric Brunner - Danleigh Borman, Seth Stammler, Dave van den Bergh
(Sisina Ubiparipovic, 60th) Luke Sassano, Claudio Reyna (Mike Magee,
46th), Juan Pablo Angel, John Wolyniek (Oscar Echeverry, 60th)
San Jose Earthquakes: Joe Cannon - Jason Hernandez (Jay Ayres, 85th), Ryan
Cochrane (Eric Denton, 46th), Nick Garcia, James Riley
- Ned Grabavoy (Conrad Smith, 77th), Ivan Guerrero (Matt Taylor, 77th), Ramiro
Corrales, Ronnie O'Brien (Joe Vide, 46th) - Kei Kamara (Jamil Walker, 77th), Gavin
Glinton (Shea Salinas, 60th).
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