Friday, I’m in love

OK, all right, yes, we know — it’s a long season, it was just one game, and the Quakes are still in last place, but if the sentiment is good enough for The Cure, it’s good enough for us on this sunny, pre-3 day weekend Friday.

And hey, what’s not to like? Not only did the Quakes win 2-1 last night, defeating the Houston Dynamo, but they also defeated all the ghosts that have been rattling around San Jose since the announcement last year that the team was coming back. You know the ghosts: the Ghost of Champions Past, the Ghost of AEG, that kind of thing. It was a victory and an exorcism in one fell swoop. As Frank Yallop told reporters after the match, “I felt like we looked like we belonged out there.” Yes, it was only one match, but the jolt to the collective psyche of the team and its fans was much bigger than that. Last night, this new band of castoffs — only the latest to wear Quakes colors — proved that they belong.

Today’s links, hot off the grill:

- Video highlights, courtesy of MLSnet.com. How many times does JP Dellacamera say Ryan Johnson’s name in these clips? Oh, and how come Ricardo Clark doesn’t get a yellow for taking a swing at Nick Garcia after Garcia fouled him? Clark’s a talented player but he’s got to learn to control his temper, especially if Bob Bradley is counting on him for upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

- Our own Jeff Carlisle turned in a pair of stories for MLSnet.com: a match report and a story on Johnson’s contributions to the win. One side note: Did you know that Johnson is listed as a defender/midfielder on the Earthquakes’ roster?

- Our own Pete Ratajczak also did the double for MLSnet.com, this time from the Houston perspective, in this match report and this post-game story with quotes from Dominic Kinnear and Eddie Robinson. We didn’t hear what was said to the Houston players that has Kinnear so fired up, but he should know that every former Earthquake on his team received a healthy round of applause in the pre-game announcement of lineups.

- The Mercury News offers up a match report as well as a column from Ann Killion.

- Speaking of the local press, San Mateo Daily Journal reporter Michael Erler turns in this knowledgeable match report. We especially liked this bit:

The outfit calling themselves the “Houston Dynamo” won the MLS Cup the past two seasons that rightfully should have been celebrated across the Bay Area. And if you didn’t think the denizens of Santa Clara County weren’t bitterly aware of that fact, then the pregame ceremony, reminding those in attendance of the two MLS Cups the Earthquakes did win, in 2001 and 2003, erased all doubt. The banners served as a not-too-subtle message that while Houston took a lot from San Jose, they didn’t take everything.

- Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America shows off his usual eloquence in his match report.

- You can also find match reports from Goal.com, the AP, and the Houston Chronicle.

- Finally, Santa Clara University’s student newspaper, The Santa Clara, has an interview with athletic director Dan Coonan in which he gives high marks to the Earthquakes and owner Lew Wolff.

Now, time to watch those highlights one more time. Enjoy your weekend!