Thursday May 15, 2008
The mood at the Earthquakes practice session on Wednesday was surprisingly confident and upbeat as they prepared to take on the New England Revolution in Gillette Stadium. The team knows they need to get a result and the players fully expect to do so and the team diligently and professionally went through their drills, on a scorching hot day, with that in mind.
“Morale is still good. We know it’s early. After the Columbus game, it was low but we sat down and had a talk and we bounced back. I’m sure we are gonna do really well this weekend,” said midfielder Shea Salinas. “We try to avoid the expansion team label because we do have a lot of experience on this team and we are a good team. We don’t use that as an excuse at all. We were at home the other night and we should have pulled 3 points off and we didn’t hold onto it so we’re not gonna give ourselves any excuses.”
“I’m definitely going back there with the thought of getting points and of playing well in front of the fans that treated me very well while I was there,” said defender and former Revs player James Riley. “Obviously we’ll go in, respect New England, they’re a fantastic team but we’re not gonna fear them. It should be fun,” he continued. When asked about the Columbus match and his role in the loss, he was all class. “I said it to the guys in the locker room when we came in, I take full responsibility for the first goal absolutely. I just got caught. We spoke about it. I’ve watched the film. It’s something that you learn to take with a grain of salt and then to get on with the next play and then get on with the next game. Being out of position by a half step in this league is gonna kill you. I should have done more. I could have cut the pass off. I could have tracked back.” Riley said that the play does not wear on his mind and he’s clearly focused on this weekends match.
The exact starting line up remains a mystery but the players appear ready to fly back east and take care of business. Defender Jay Ayres was in attendance at the practice session although he did not participate. He had facial surgery last week to repair damage he suffered in the collision with Ryan Cochrane in the U.S. Open Cup match in Salt Lake City. He reports he’s recovering well but that it will still be a number of months before he can return to play in a match.
Ben Sizemore (email)
After participating to the full practice session on Wednesday, Ryan Cochrane confirmed to us that he was ready to start the game on Saturday. "I still have to play with this stupid bandage around my head, but I'm ready to play", he said. As Nick Garcia only had a very light session and did not take part in the collective drills, Cochrane said: "I don't know what his status is right now. He's still dealing with a groin problem, so I don't know*, but we have been training with Jason (Hernandez) in central defense and I am ready for both possibilities".
*Before leaving, Nick Garcia seemed totally confident about his participation in Saturday's match: "It was just a precaution, but I'm playing on Saturday", he said.
Thierry Heumann (email)
The match is scheduled on Saturday, May 17 at 4:30pm (PT). It is live on HDNet. For a list of pubs and restaurants showing the game in the Bay Area, read our Pubs' Review Section.
