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The Aftershock of Last Week’s Earthquakes Trade

WondolowskiThe San Jose Quakes made a four player trade last week sending Ryan Johnson to Toronto FC for forward Alan Gordon, defender Nana Attakora and midfielder Jacob Peterson. The only player for the newly acquired Quakes who will be getting some regular action of the three this year will be Peterson, which he saw a full 90 minutes against the Vancouver White Caps this week. That game ended in another tie for the Quakes, 2-2.

What can be said about yet another tie against an inferior team? The Quakes are going to shoot themselves in the foot when it comes down to the end if they keep getting 1 point instead of 3, and they will look back at these games in disgust. While it wasn’t quite as bad as the tie against the Galaxy (with them being a man down and no actual goalkeeper in goal) it will still burn them on the standings table. Wondolowski should have had a hat trick, Lenhart should have buried his two breakaways, Busch should have stopped the first goal…..should’ve, would’ve, could’ve.

The bright side of the White Caps game was that the Quakes did score two goals. Taking away the friendly against West Bromwich, the Earthquakes haven’t scored in four games and their offense and buildup looked anemic. After the trade, Peterson looked very good on the flank getting in behind defenders with his speed and playing some great balls across. He picked up an assist on the second Wondolowski goal on a great cross into the 6 yard box. The buildup through the midfield and getting the forwards, mainly Wondo, involved early helped set the tone of the game and got the Quakes on the board early. On the backend, however, is where San Jose now looks like they need the work.

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Goalkeeper Jon Busch

There were countless chances coming from the outside wings of the White Caps that should have been stifled by the defense. If I were Jon Busch, I would have been yelling even more at the defense in front of me for giving their forwards and midfielders so much time and space on the top of the 18. That is unacceptable when you have a lead two separate times in the game and the Earthquakes will continue to lose or tie games without making adjustments. Too many defenders are not staying on their feet and are getting beat for chances on goal (or off crossbars) and coverage is too lax with easy tap in goals coming on crosses (White Caps second goal). Maybe some changes need to be made on the back line or dedicating an entire practice on covering and clearing is in order.

Going back to the good, since I like to end on a good note, it was great to see Bobby Convey make an appearance at the end of Wednesday’s game. He has been one of my favorite players since I started watching him play at FC Reading a few years back. He really brings another dynamic threat on the left side and almost got an assist for a go ahead goal late in the game. Wondolowski was getting in on the action early which shows why the Quakes need him so badly. He looked great all game and dangerous whenever he was in front of the goal. Lenhart seemed off but he still created some great chances for himself and played the point man very well winning headers.

For the San Jose Earthquakes to get better and move up in the standings, they need to tighten up their backend. The midfield and forwards finally look like they are meshing well together and playing off of each other to get results. They just need the defense to clam down on their opponents, not give up so much space or time for their forwards to crack shots at the top of the box. The wins will come, they will get better and we will be in the playoffs.

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