Center Line Soccer

Earthquakes Planet has been in an uproar over the team’s draw this weekend with the Galaxy. Not over the draw so much — while it’s always preferable to beat LA, a draw is substantially better than losing to LA — but the manner in which the result occurred. With the Galaxy down to 10 men and midfielder Mike Magee conscripted into emergency goalkeeping duty, the Quakes couldn’t put a goal on the scoreboard.

In wake of the scoreless match, I’ve heard long-time fans saying that San Jose played so badly it reminded them of watching the Clash, seen message-board messiahs call for heads to roll in the Earthquakes’ coaching ranks, and some have even suggested inventing a time machine for the sole purpose of using it to go back in time to smother the founders of the NASL with their pillows in their infant cribs, in order to prevent Saturday’s match from ever being played. OK, I’m kidding about the last one, but let me say this: reactions have been strong and largely one-sided.

To me, though, this is a story of expectations. When referee Juan Guzman sent off Galaxy backup goalkeeper Josh Saunders in the 43rd minute, leaving Magee to don goalkeeper gloves and shirt, it was easy to think that the Quakes would spend the rest of the afternoon leisurely pumping shots into the back of his net. It was practically a foregone conclusion that San Jose would win by some embarrassing margin, and we would all look back at this match and laugh at how horribly inept Los Angeles is in general, and how Bruce Arena walks like a penguin when he’s angry. When San Jose didn’t score, it was easy to feel shortchanged.

That was the expectation, but the reality was much different, and not as surprising as you might think. While it is a rare occurrence, there are many instances in England where goalkeepers have been replaced by field players, and they’ve generally done very well. It turns out that soccer players, no matter where they play, are elite athletes, and despite their lack of specialized training in goal, they can stop a lot of what comes at them.

In 2010, Robbie Savage manned the nets for Derby County against Reading after starter Stephen Bywater was injured and backup Saul Deeney was sent off in the 41st minute. Savage, like Magee, had to play over a full half in goal The Telegraph, a London paper, featured Savage’s performance in the match in a story headlined, “Robbie Savage shines in goal for Derby County against Reading,” lauding him particularly for “a sublime tip around the post from a Gylfi Sigurdsson free-kick which was lancing straight into the top right corner.” Reading’s Shane Long failed to convert a PK, smashing it instead over the net. Yes, Savage allowed two goals, but then it was already 2-0 when he entered the match, and it’s certain his teammates knew there was no way back. That wasn’t the case Saturday, when the Galaxy just needed to shut out the Quakes to take home a point for their efforts.

A better example might be Manchester United, a side which has used both John O’Shea and Rio Ferdinand in the nets. O’Shea played the last 10 minutes in goal in a 4-0 win over Spurs in 2007, helping preserve Edwin van der Sar’s clean sheet and winning the praise of Sir Alex Ferguson. “John… did well, with a great block from Robbie Keane and a punch from a corner kick. He’s kept the jersey and all the players are going to sign it for him.” Ferdinand got his chance the following year against Portsmouth, coming in after van der Sar was again injured and his backup, Tomasz Kuszczak, was sent off in the 76th minute for fouling Milan Baroš in the United box. The first task Ferdinand faced was a penalty — not surprisingly, he failed to stop Sulley Montari’s spot kick — but he kept Pompey off the board for the rest of the match.

Another noteworthy performance of a field player in goal came from Phil Jagielka, who spent the last half-hour in the nets for Sheffield United in a 2007 match against Arsenal. He preserved his side’s 1-0 lead as the underdog Blades beat the Gunners, denying Robin van Persie with what the BBC termed “a spectacular save” to preserve the win.

Perhaps the best performance as emergency goalkeeper came in 1991 from Manchester City forward Niall Quinn against Derby County. Having scored once in the match, he took his place in goal in the 37th minute after Tony Coton was sent off. His save on Dean Saunders’ penalty not only saved the day for City but sealed Derby’s fate, relegating the Rams from the English top flight.  Here are the highlights of that one:

So let’s consider Saturday’s game again, knowing that there’s a difference between having Mike Magee in goal for LA and having, say, a mobility-challenged senior citizen whose preferred mode of transport is a Rascal scooter. Thus far in 2011, the Galaxy has allowed less than a goal per game, an indication of the quality of their defense. Even in matches where they risk exposure at the back by actually, you know, attacking, they don’t give up a lot of goals. Once they had a chance to regroup at halftime, their strategy was clear — defend like mad and hope to come out of Buck Shaw with a scoreless draw. Obviously, it worked, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that a strong defensive team can keep a clean sheet when they park the bus, even if their goalkeeper is suspect.

That doesn’t mean the Earthquakes have nothing to answer for — they clearly do. This is the second match of 2011 where they’ve played a man up for a significant stretch and have been unable to score. Their decision to attack down the flanks and put in crosses can be questioned in light of the aerial expertise of the Galaxy’s two central defenders, Gregg Berhalter and Omar Gonzalez. The fact that the Earthquakes never responded to LA’s defensive stance by pulling a defender for an attacking player is also a relevant topic for debate — even if Bobby Burling’s height makes him a good target in the box on set pieces, it’s not the same as having a bona fide forward like Scott Sealy on the field, and Sealy was available. Personally, I would have liked to see Simon Dawkins playing closer to goal, given his composure on the ball, his ability to take players on one-on-one, and the way we’ve already seen him combine with players like Steven Lenhart in close quarters.

Still, to focus on the team’s second-half performance is to ignore that the Earthquakes utter domination of the league-leading Galaxy in the first half. Dawkins hit the post within 30 seconds of the opening whistle, and only a series of superhuman effort by Ricketts kept the ball out of the net. San Jose’s play in the first half was electric, and it may have been a lucky coincidence for the Galaxy that circumstances forced them to simply defend and hope for a tie. (Not lucky for Ricketts, of course, who undergoes surgery today on his broken left arm.) By the same token, fan expectations might not have been so high — and come crashing down so hard — if the Quakes hadn’t looked so very, very good in those opening 45 minutes.

Regardless of your take on the game, it’s important to remember several things. At eighth place in the playoff table, the Earthquakes are still solidly in playoff position. Even after the shutout, they’re scoring an average of 1.33 goals per game, fourth highest in the league. They’ve only allowed 17 goals, which ties them at fourth best in MLS. Let’s not also forget that San Jose has lost only one of their last eight league matches.

The best thing come out of the match, though, may be this: The San Jose/Los Angeles rivalry has been rebooted. The kind of weirdness that unfolded on the field Saturday just doesn’t happen when Columbus is in town. It wasn’t as much fun as the two Galaxy own goals that were scored when Landon Donovan made his first return to Spartan Stadium, but it was just as memorable. I can’t wait to see what happens on August 20, when the Quakes travel to Home Depot Center for the rematch.