San Jose Earthquakes training report for Tuesday, June 7th
Tuesday training sessions can often be a casual affair as the coaching staff begins the process of separating the expected starting XI for the upcoming weekend from the bench players and reserves. Add in that this week the Earthquakes hosted an MLS Reserve League game against the Los Angeles Galaxy Monday morning/afternoon, and it was not surprising to see some players get a respite from participating in full training exercises.
Following the requisite warm-up routines, the squad split up into two teams for a series of 9 v. 9 short field scrimmages. For Team Blue, Jon Busch captained the net while Convey, Hernandez, Beitashour, McLoughlin, Cronin, Stephenson, Álvarez (No, not Arturo —more on that below), and Luzunaris manned the outfield. As the opposition, wearing bright orange pennies, Weber, Leitch Burling, Corrales, Gjertsen, Ring, Ampaipitakwong, Dawkins, and Lenhart defended from the In-n-Out End of the Nutrilite Training Facility.
All eleven starters from the 2-0 win over Houston were in the mix during the scrimmages, though broken up over the two teams. No changes are expected in the starting XI that will face DC United on Saturday, with the seven bench players also likely to remain the same. Facing off against one another in Tuesday’s scrimmage also highlighted some of the player groupings that are starting to take hold. Cronin and Stephenson as a midfield duo worked well in quick possession passing, while Lenhart saw some nice service from Ampai and Ring. With the short-field conditions limiting open space in which to work, quick passing and timely runs were the recipe for success. Dawkins looked especially comfortable in this arrangement as he quickly works himself into match fitness. Talking after practice he disclosed that he was feeling no ill effects from his appearance on Saturday against the Dynamo, and felt he would be good for 45-60 minutes against DC United.
Bobby Convey was especially active on the day, with some intensity during the scrimmage that is not his signature level of involvement. Playing primarily out of the back, Convey demanded a great deal from his teammates when it came to getting open and playing quick give-and-goes. The veteran was especially encouraging to rookie strikers Luzunaris and McLoughlin, who received their fair share of critical evaluation throughout the scrimmage.
Looking sharp for Team Orange was outside midfielder Joey Gjertsen. While his performances on past weekends have not been stellar, Gjertsen has shaken off the flu that hampered his progress back to full fitness following an early season injury and showed off more of his skills and elusiveness in the scrimmage. The preferred choice for coach Yallop at right midfielder when healthy, Gjertsen will need to continue his recovery before he can expect to dislodge Ampai from the starting line-up.
Steven Lenhart had a nice run-out, but did seem to be holding back slightly. Given the physical abuse he both dishes out and receives on a regular basis in MLS play, taking it a bit easy in training is understandable. Knowing that he tends to dial up his play as the week progresses, Lenhart should be hitting his stride just in time to face a DC United side that features two rookie center backs. It is not inconceivable to imagine the Quakes striker is looking forward to the opportunity to dish it out to the MLS newcomers this weekend.
With the scrimmages done, the players moved on to practice free kicks and general shooting drills. While the goalkeepers rotated in, the players took turns hitting the ball over a wall of dummies (no, the Galaxy were not still in town — these were of the plastic variety) to simulate various set piece opportunities. Tim Ward had a pair of strikes that made it past the ‘keeper corp, while Convey showed a good curving effort that narrowly missed going upper 90. Assistant coach Ian Russell had one of the best kicks of the day — combining precision and power, he curled a ball up and over the wall and into the inside netting. In the end-of-training shoot around, the undisputed “hardest shot on the Quakes” titleholder Ellis McLoughlin continued his assault on the Jabulani with a dazzling set of left-footed blasts. The goalkeepers must want to encourage the 20-year old to give it try with the right foot now and again, but when he obliges the shots come nearly as hard.
Ike Opara was not at training Tuesday, as he continues to be evaluated for the left-foot injury he sustained last Thursday in training. X-rays and an MRI ruled out any broken bones or stress fractures, but the second year defender is still reporting significant pain and still requires the use of crutches to get around. Opara did come out to watch the Reserve League game on Monday, but he did not comment on his status.
On the trialist front, Sercan Güvenışık has completed his stay in San Jose, and has left to join up with his girlfriend in Florida. With only a week to go before he is to report with his German club team Preußen Münster, Güvenışık’s fate with the Earthquakes is now in the hands of the coaching staff and general manager John Doyle. Making it clear that the Turkish striker was of interest, the team has official filed a Discovery Claim with MLS and now enters a period of negotiation with the player’s agent. With Güvenışık not eligible to be added to the roster until the start of the MLS summer transfer window on July 15th, an agreement to sign the 31-year old may be some time away.
Starting a two week trial with the Earthquakes on Monday was Guillermo Álvarez Enríquez of Mexico. The right outside midfielder made a late appearance in the Earthquakes 3-0 Reserve League win over the Galaxy, but made little impact. Known simply as Guillermo Álvarez, the 23-year old from Michoacan spent time with the Morelia youth team before signing earlier this year with Atlético Huila in the Colombian First Division. He made six substitute appearances for Huila in four months with the team and did not register any goals or assists. Álvarez is slight of frame, but has some speed and a good right-footed shot. Given the Earthquakes difficulties in nailing down the right midfielder position, Álvarez will certainly get a thorough look during his time in San Jose.
It’s always interesting to read about the teams preparations during the week. Have you ever considered a piece on a typical week in the life of a Quakes player – how often do they train, when do they rest and recover, game day preparations and so forth?
Kelly and I have talked about doing something like that for the Quakes Cast. The actual amount of on-field training the guys do is minimal when compared to an everyday worker. Most of their time off-the-field is spent doing recovery exercises and match preparation. Being that their bodies are their main tools of the trade, rest and good nutrition are every bit as important as two-hour on-field training sessions.
Great! I don’t have any idea about how much and what kind of training they undertake on a weekly basis.
The reserve game was quite an eye opener for me – I had way more fun than Quakes players would if they took a day off and came to watch me at work!
Gjertsen is a litany of excuses, pretty much analogous to Sealy as our resident sicknote. Nothing will change the fact that Gjertsen, Sealy and Johnson can look fine against lesser competition (in training, reserve matches vs Grenada for example) but they will never look good at MLS level when the excuses run out.–Gjertsen because he’s not good enough to make up for how non-athletic he his. Johnson because he needs a slowly played game to keep up mentally. Sealy because he’s Cornell Glen redux except he’s always hurt.
Frank is just a stubborn fool if he starts Stephenson again in the face of a dire match against Houston.
What happened to Baca and Jasseh?
Jasseh is dealing with a hamstring issue the last I inquired. He hasn’t participated in on-field training for the last week.
Baca is still in the process of getting his paperwork in order. Until then, he is not yet eligible to sign an MLS contract.
Thanks Robert for your updates! As always a great read. Does Ellis look like he will be match fit to play up top with Lenny or is he still having those nagging injury issues ? And is Leitchie going to stay home one more week to help out with his new girls or will he travel to DC in order to get a full night’s sleep ? :)
McLoughlin looked good this week in training and is set to travel to DC United. I wouldn’t expect him to start on Saturday, as Yallop has indicated that Stephenson is slated to make the starting XI again. Dawkins will likely be the first attacking midfielder option off the bench, with McLoughlin the first striker option. As for Leitch, he should be in the 18 on Saturday, playing behind starter Steven Beitashour.
A couple nights away in a quite DC area hotel room — that might be just the thing for a daddy dealing with newborns :-)
Robert great report thank you. The only problem with soccer is that most weeks teams only play once a week so these reports are a nice mid-week fix. If you were a betting man what chances would you give Sercan Güvenışık of being a Quakes player this summer? 50/50, 30/70?? Personally do you think his style of play would fit the team? Does he remind you of anyone past or present?
Just to add to Nerdy Gales post. I would love a podcast that had Kelly going through a typical MLS week for a player. For example: how does he spend his saturday morning/afternoon before a home game? Does he ever explore a city when he is on the road? A walk through of a players week would be great.
Sercan would like to move to the United States and is targeting MLS as a potential opportunity. In speaking with him, he mentioned just how tough MLS was compared to what he thought he might find. I guess we can chalk that up to most Europeans still not fully aware of the quality of play in MLS. Is he good enough to play in MLS? Yes, but is by no means a sure thing First XI selection. Compared to other Quakes on the roster, he might be somewhere in the #4-5 range at forward.
Some positives in Sercan’s game are that he has experience and a good nose for goal. He made a smart run against the Gals defensive line on one goal and fit himself into a tight space to meet a corner kick on another goal. His striking partner Luzunaris for comparison missed on both his shots near target in similar situations.
Moving on the the Quakes Cast, Kelly might be game for a “Day in the Life” feature. I’ll ask him about that, plus bring it up with some of the guests we are putting together for future shows. Lots of moving parts behind the scenes for that show, I am surprised that it actually makes it to air every week :-)
Hi Rob:
This is Vince from PAASL.
If Frank does start Khari as a forward against D.C., why do you think he would do so?
Hey Vince,
We talk a bunch about this subject on the Quakes Cast. Basically, Yallop saw Stephenson getting more comfortable in the role of second striker as the game wore on. Given that the team responded well to the half time adjustments, Yallop also looks set to start the same eleven against DC United. Simon Dawkins is not quite ready to start, and right now Yallop prefers Stephenson’s experience over Ellis McLoughlin.