Quakes can’t find the net in 2-0 loss to New York
New York's Dane Richards dribbles past San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch en route to scoring his side's first goal. Photo: Howard C. Smith, isiphotos.com
Behind a solid offensive attack led by goal scorers Dane Richards and Thierry Henry, the New York Red Bulls defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at Red Bull Arena. The Earthquakes had their chances, recording 15 shots, but the fact that only two were put on goal left them ruing their missed opportunities.
“I thought we had a pretty good performance tonight, but we did not finish the chances when we had them,” said San Jose head coach Frank Yallop. “They are a good team, especially going forward and you have to give them credit for finishing their opportunities. We had four or five solid chances and on another night we finish those. We were a bit unfortunate not to get something out of the game.”
The Earthquakes put the first shots on goal in the match, challenging Red Bulls goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul in the fifth minute. Arturo Alvarez took a throw-in on the right flank and some poor marking by New York midfielder Joel Lindpere allowed San Jose’s number 10 to cut inside, onto his preferred left foot. His shot from just outside the 18 was right at Coundoul but so powerful that the keeper could only parry it, with the rebound going straight to Chris Wondolowski. Wondolowski’s low shot was stopped by Coundoul, who scrambled after the rebound and was able to corral the ball.
New York threatened in the 12th minute, with two of the team’s three designated players contributing. Rafael Marquez faked two defenders into the air before floating a cross to the far post, and San Jose’s clearance went straight to a waiting Thierry Henry just 14 yards from goal. His low shot was blocked inside the six-yard box by Tim Ward, who was standing just in front of a diving Jon Busch.
The Red Bulls again tested Busch in the 19th minute. Tony Tchani found Henry in midfield, and the Frenchman played a ball into space on the left side of San Jose’s penalty area for Juan Pablo Angel. The Colombian rolled a deft shot towards the far post, but Busch was equal to the task and scooped up the ball without incident.
Two minutes later, it was Henry’s chance to take aim at the Earthquakes’ goal. Angel, once again free in the left side of San Jose’s penalty area, laid the ball back to the top of the box for the Arsenal legend, but his carefully placed shot bounced off the post and his attempt to score his first MLS goal was again denied.
San Jose nearly took a lead in the 26th minute, as they launched a counter against the increasingly dominant Red Bulls. A sprinting Chris Wondolowski played a brilliant diagonal ball that put Cornell Glen behind the New York defense, but his shot from the left side of the box, with only Coundoul to beat, went wide of the far post.
Glen had another chance in the 35th minute, when Alvarez beat Lindpere to the end line before cutting back and smashing a low cross to the front of the net to meet Glen’s run. Both Glen and defender Chris Albright arrived at the ball at the same time, however, and it skittered out of play just past the Red Bulls goal for a goal kick.
“It was a frustrating night for me and it has been a nightmare season for me in some ways,” said Glen. “I have been getting to good spots to score goals, but they are not going in for me right now. I have worked hard all season on my finishing and right now I can’t put anything in. I have to keep at it and hopefully I will score next week and help the team get a win.”
Referee Silviu Petrescu pulled out his book in the 38th minute as Angel played a 30-yard through ball for Dane Richards that put the winger in alone on Busch. The two players arrived at the ball almost simultaneously, with Richards stumbling and falling after his first touch in what Petrescu deemed to be an attempt to earn a penalty kick. He rewarded this effort with a yellow card.
Richards redeemed himself in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, however. Lindpere, marked closely at the edge of the San Jose penalty area, headed the ball back to Richards, who cut into the middle before bouncing the ball off Burling’s leg to earn another one-on-one opportunity with Busch. This time, Richards forced Busch to commit before deftly pulling the ball to his left, leaving the Earthquakes keeper helplessly on the turf while he dribbled the ball into the goal to break the scoreless deadlock.
“Their first goal changed the game,” said Yallop. “We had a chance from Cornell (Glen) in the first half that could have put us ahead and we have been dominant when we score first. Instead we went into the locker room down a goal and we had to try and get a goal to get back in the game.”
After the break, it was New York who threatened first. In the 50th minute, Henry backheeled a free kick from Roy Miller to force a diving save from Busch, with the rebound skipping out to Angel. Despite having a wide-open net, however, the Red Bull forward slammed the ball off the post.
Henry, still looking for his first MLS goal, nearly got it in the 53rd minute. Angel played a ball into the box and found Henry, back to goal, who flicked the ball into the air with his right foot and, as it descended, popped a shot towards the San Jose goal on the turn. A leaping Busch denied him, however, parrying it over the top of the net.
Two minutes later, the Earthquakes sought to enhance their attack by removing Gjertsen in favor of Geovanni, who came on as a forward, with Wondolowski moving to midfield.
San Jose’s evening got even worse in the 56th minute, when captain Bobby Convey was called for a foul and received a yellow card on what looked to be a clean tackle on Richards. The caution means that he will be suspended for San Jose’s next match, in Houston on Sunday, September 5.
San Jose had chances to equalize as the match hit the hour mark. Alvarez, now on the left side of midfield, put a ball just over the top of the net after receiving a square ball from Glen. Two minutes later, Wondolowski won the ball in a challenge and pushed the ball through to Glen on the right side, but his right-footed shot rolled just wide of the far post.
Omar Jasseh came on for Chris Wondolowski in the 63rd minute as Yallop looked to change up the attack. Unfortunately for the Earthquakes, Henry put the match out of reach moments later. Richards, deep in the corner on the right, put a cross into the San Jose penalty area that bounced near the penalty spot. Burling whiffed on an attempted clearance, giving Henry all the time and space he needed to smash a low shot past Busch for his first MLS goal.
That wasn’t the end of San Jose’s chances, however. Jasseh’s presence on the field paid immediate dividends three minutes after he came on as he sent a dangerous cross to Glen at the edge of the six-yard box. Once again, however, Glen was left frustrated, getting a foot on the ball but putting it over the goal.
San Jose’s last chance came in the 78th minute, when a nice combination play in midfield resulted in a Convey cross on the ground that was perfectly placed for Glen to run onto, but Red Bull rookie defender Tim Ream was able to get a toe on the ball to put it just out of Glen’s reach.
“The bottom line and the difference in that game is that they finished their chances, and we didn’t,” said San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch. “That game could have ended easily 2-2. They had maybe the better possession, fair enough. We had just as many chances as they did though.”
All in all, it was a decent effort from the Earthquakes, but it’s always going to be difficult to get even a point on the road without scoring a goal. San Jose will be looking for a spark from new designated player Geovanni, who hopes to be ready to start the team’s next match. “I felt much better tonight than I did last week. I hope to have a good week of training this week and I feel that I will be ready to go for our next game in Houston.”
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San Jose Earthquakes (8-7-5) vs. New York Red Bulls (11-7-4)
Aug. 28, 2010 – Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 21,859
Scoring Summary: NY – Dane Richards (Joel Lindpere) 46+; NY – Thierry Henry (Dane Richards, Chris Albright) 63.
Misconduct Summary: SJ – Bobby Burling (caution) 6; NY – Dane Richards (caution) 38; SJ – Convey (caution) 56; NY – Joel Lindpere (caution) 75; NY – Tony Tchani (caution) 81.
San Jose Earthquakes – Jon Busch, Tim Ward, Brandon McDonald, Bobby Burling, Bobby Convey, Joey Gjertsen (Geovanni 55), Sam Cronin (Ryan Johnson 78), Khari Stephenson, Arturo Alvarez, Chris Wondolowski (Omar Jasseh 63), Cornell Glen.
Statistics: Shots: 15; Shots on Goal: 2; Saves 7; Fouls: 6; Offsides: 0; Corner Kicks: 3.
New York Red Bulls – Bouna Coundoul, Chris Albright, Carlos Mendes, Tim Ream, Roy Miller, Dane Richards, Rafael Marquez, Tony Tchani (Seth Stammler 84), Joel Lindpere, Juan Pablo Angel (Macoumba Kandji 72), Thierry Henry (Salou Ibrahim 88).
Statistics: Shots: 17; Shots on Goal: 10; Saves: 2; Fouls: 19; Offsides: 5; Corner Kicks: 6.
So obviously Cornnel Glen can not put the ball in the net so why is he still playing so much. Sealy & Johnshon are much of a threat either and they may as well stay on the bench too.
Isn’t it better to load the mid field and have them pepper the net with shots out from the 18 and hope for a straight shot into the net, a Wondo goal off a rebound or a volley or at the very least a corner as a result of a goalie or defender deflection. At least when we are taking corners our defense men have a chance to score as other than Wondo they (they defense) have more goals combined than our “other” forwards combined.
If Eduardo ever plays maybe he can do something up top as a strike partner with Wondo but until then 4-5-1 is best chance we have to score.
Cornell Glen’s finishing skill were horrible. It was the difference. This is the second game in a row that I have seen him miss very good chances.
On the positive side, what a match for Sam Cronin!!!! That guy was all over the place, breaking up attacks and even pushing forward and starting a few of his own. For me, he was the Quakes MOTM. Even though we didn’t see anything from Khari Stephenson as obviously dramatic and beautiful as the cross he put on Wondo’s foot in his debut a couple of weeks ago, I think he played solidly as well. I know that over on Big Soccer there has been a lot of complaints about Convey’s play yesterday, but I thought he played well. Considering how much we lose in the attack when he isn’t able to push forward, I think he did a good job of balancing that with maintaining his defensive responsibilities, especially against the speed of Dane Richards. I think it might be time, once Convey serves his suspension, to explore other options at left back, even if Corrales isn’t fit to return. We lose too much in the attack when Bobby is at left back. It seems that some of the confidence that Joey Gjertsen was playing with earlier in the season has deserted him, and it may be time for him to come off of the bench for a bit. His work rate remains solid, but he seems to lose the ball with a greater frequency. Perhaps Leitch or Beitashour (sp?) can slide over to left back, and Convey can go back to his position on the left side of the midfield. As everyone returns to health toward the end of the season, it will be interesting to see how Yallop manages our glut of competent, if unspectacular, defenders. I think Opara has to be on the field, even with the occasional rookie defensive lapses, as he is such a weapon on set pieces. Other than that, it’s hard to call. Hernendez was starting to show a few cracks, and Brandon MacDonald has looked better at center back than he did in the holding mid role that Cronin is playing so well. I think that now we are starting to see some of the depth that Doyle and Yallop were trumpeting earlier in the season. I think that the squad could still use an upgrade at left back, right mid and forward. We have good depth up top, but I’d like to see us trade some of that depth for a quality finisher. Cornell Glen has certainly put himself in dangerous spots in the last few matches, perhaps we will see him find his finishing form in the next couple of weeks. That, and a return to health for Eduardo, would certainly make life a little more interesting for the boys in blue.
Agreed on Cronin & Stephenson, they did well yesterday and so did Convey. How many times did Convey chase down the attacker then clear the ball on his side defensively?
Convey should definately go back to left mid ASAP and they should put Leitch in his place for now. Forget Hernandez he makes too many mistakes. Once all the defenders are healthy there will be issues with who is going to start as McDonald is probably not going back to a midfield starting role. For me our starting back four should be Ramiro, Burling, McDonald, Ward with Ike as either taking Burling or McDonald’s spot depending on how things are going.
In the midfield agreed that Gersten isn’t a sharp as he was earlier this season but I like him starting with Jasseh or Alvarez coming off the bench in the second half when needed. Starting 5 in the mid for me are Covney, Khari, Cronin, Gersten with Giovanni as a recessed forward.
glen was shocking. gjertsen is better when put opposite convey because they both naturally go wide; but can cut in and play-make as necessary. When he’s opposite Alvarez, I think his natural shift inwards is stifled by the compressed field; since Alvarez is coming inside too. I wouldn’t mind seeing Beitashour at LB and pushing convey back up to midfield. Defense looked pretty good, NYRB are a pretty high powered offense, so it was a good display. I really think Glen was the difference, 2 horrible misses. If pace upfront is so important for yallop, throw Jasseh up there until Geovanni is fit for a full 90.