Photos: Nap - The Project FC
Saturday September 13th, 2008 Two shots off the post landed at the feet of Stuart Holden tonight in Houston and he put the ricochets into the back of the net to give the Dynamo a 2-1 victory over San Jose and effectively kill the Earthquakes’ longshot playoff run. The match was a hot, muggy and tense affair that wasn’t easy on the eyes. Once again, San Jose gave up an early goal when Kei Kamara’s lunge to connect to a low cross hit the post only to bounce to an alert Holden in the 6th minute. However, the Quakes comeback task was then made easier, only minutes after the first goal, when Kamara received a straight red for throwing his elbow into Nick Garcia’s throat. It was made clear when the team’s last met that there is no love lost between the two (Listen to their interviews after last match between the 2 teams at Buck Shaw a month ago), yet San Jose never really took advantage of having an extra man as Houston continued to get a good share of the possession and retain its shape. The Quakes played a more offensive set up once going a man up but the difference was hard to see on the field. Houston seemed to have the sharper play and outside midfielder Corey Ashe looked especially threatening and it took a great save from Joe Cannon to keep him from scoring when he got behind the defense in the 23rd minute. In fact, San Jose seemed to lack energy and ideas for most of the first half. It wasn’t until Huckerby’s hustle to pressure a sketchy back pass led to a mistake by Onstad and a gift of a goal for Sealy in the 68th minute that the Quakes showed any real danger. Unfortunately for them it was a case of too little, too late. While San Jose pressed forward for the last part of the match they eventually gave up the second goal in injury time. In this case a tie would have been just as bad as a loss with only two matches left on the docket for the Earthquakes. Still, Coach Yallop cannot be happy that again his team had to play from behind due to an early lapse in defense, which had been so stout for much of the season. Once they fell behind on the road against the defending champions, even with the man advantage, it was going to take a Herculean effort to win the match and, for whatever reason, the Quakes just weren’t up to the challenge. For the San Jose fans it hurts to see the team go out this way, especially against the AEG owned Houston who many fans feel stole the old team away from them. On the other hand, the former Quakes who play on the Dynamo felt disrespected by portions of the crowd at Buck Shaw and resent that the current Quakes wear two stars on their jerseys that the players now in Houston felt like they put there. It all makes for good theater but unfortunately the match didn’t live up to the drama surrounding it. One has to wonder that if this match had been played on its original date if the outcome would have been different. Certainly the Quakes would have been in better form. It seems that since that week without a match, San Jose hasn’t been the same team that was so hot in August. Most of the game the Quakes failed to find a rhythm or keep much possession, especially after falling behind again so early on. Too many passes were being sent long and over the endline. There was a lack of cohesion in the midfield and the offensive minded outside mids weren’t getting the ball enough in dangerous positions. Huckerby, O’Brien, Sealy and Alvarez all had moments but they didn’t come consistently enough. In the second half that changed some and the Quakes were able to get a goal and apply a lot of pressure down the stretech yet they could never find the winner as Houston seemed to have an answer for every San Jose push forward. The best chance for the second goal belonged to Shea Salinas but his shot in the 72nd minute from inside the area was sliced just off target. The heat certainly sapped the energy from the game, and the Dynamo were content to simply not allow the Quakes a second goal when at the end they were able to manufacture the winner from a quick counter attack. Substitute Nate Jaqua sent the ball off the post for Holden to tap in during the final moments. The pressure tonight was all on the Earthquakes and they couldn’t respond. San Jose now travels to Kansas City on Saturday before returning home to play their final game of an eventful, and largely successful, first season against Toronto FC on October 25. It will be interesting to see how the players respond to the situation as the core of a good team is intact and with a proper offseason of training should be in great shape to make a playoff run in 2009. Ben Sizemore (email)
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