and game. 2-1 loss, lots of whiffed chances. Reserves lack precision of starters and I believe there were no subs on our side. ninety minutes under midday sun contributed. Trialist did not impress me. Jean (they pronounce his name like the girl pronunciation, not the french way) had some clever moves, Ellis had a few chances, and Suggs covers a lot of ground. too many missed passes and terrible shots. I would say we dominated possession. Even so, without Atiba, we would have won!
"Recap: Quakes fall to 'Caps in MLS Reserve League, 2-1" (SJEarthquakes.com - Sunday, 4/8/12) (Chris MacDougal) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
so pleased that we have a reserve league to give these guys run-outs again. Ampai seems to be baking in the oven rather nicely. we knew it would take time for him to get up to MLS game speed but right now it seems he is right on schedule. He seemed to be on the bubble going into the season, glad he's putting up a fight
I saw those guys on the bench. Amazing that Frank was even considering subbing in a couple of high school freshmen! Our reserve team is lucky to have a couple of skilled defenders on the back line. It was in the top third of the field that the game fell apart, your typical (until this year, anyway) FY Quakes team. It didn't feel like a team that had much experience playing together, which seems kind of strange to me. I'd guess Frank doesn't run many starters-vs-reserves scrimmages during practices. There is a lot of talent on the reserves team, but I also am not sure we are going to see Ampai or Ellis get another try during a real game. Jason seems to have fallen off the preferred defender list, and Ring is still too immature, albeit skilled. (Near the end, the referee made a questionable corner call that favored the Caps. A few of the Quakes players protested, but Ring laid on the obscenities, and would not let it go even when everyone else had settled into position. All I could think was, dude, do you ever want to start a game again?) Silva, the trialist, is probably not going to be around much longer.
Can anyone in Earthquake land inform Akron Zips fans what former Lowe's Senior Class Award winner Ampaipitakwong's status is with coach Yallop's first team? Was he injured last year and working his way back, or what? Also, I read that he was training last fall with the Thailand national team. Anyone?
Sam Garza was truly impressive .. he can't be stopped one on one .. I saw him shake a defender as if he was a grade school player .. wow .. Ike Opara looks solid .. crafty .. and very skilled in the air .. Ampi was solid .. he's too tenative at times .. but he's very good when he decides to go forward aggressively ..
That's because he is a grade school player... http://club.whitecapsfc.com/dev/residency/U16/roster/player/sam_adekugbe.aspx
Watched the match today, and agree with most of what was posted. Ampai was the engine in the middle, had the most touches of anyone on the team. But, I can't recall a single time when he made a pass that was "great", he mostly made the safe pass - not passing backwards, but not creating great offensive chances. Think Baca as opposed to Moreno for comparison. At this point, with Khari, Moreno and Baca and maybe even Dawkins ahead of him on the depth chart in central mid, he didn't show enough to warrant getting into the 18. But he looked decent. Suggs was up and down - had a pretty good first half, went forward offensively aggressively (as compared to Ring at right back, who pretty much stayed home until late in the game when the team was pressing for an equalizer). But, Suggs was the guy marking Atiba Harris on the second Vancouver goal, and he had one or two other defensive lapses. Offensively, he has good speed and got the ball down to the end line, but then his crosses were poor in general. That seemed to be a general problem - most of the time when a final pass/cross was attempted into the box, it looked like the guy passing never looked up and was trying to hit the ball blindly into the box rather than picking anyone out to pass it to. McLoughlin had a tough day - poorly missed PK (skied it WAAAYYY high), and had two other chances on goal where he didn't get the shot on frame. He also seemed to cross when he should shoot and shoot when he should cross. Opara and Hernandez did ok defensively, but they gave Vancouver several scoring chances. Omar Salgado from Vancouver had a pretty open header that he put over the goal from about 6-8 yards and then had a shot that he put wide when he was pretty open at the top of the box. Granted, Vancouver's forwards were pretty experienced MLS wise (Atiba Harris and Long Tan have both played significant minutes with the Vancouver team last year and this year), but they got quite a few good looks at goal against the Quakes. Garza is the one guy that I can see working his way into the 18 and maybe into some significant minutes later in the year, particularly if there are injuries at outside midfield. He did some good things, particularly in the second half. Based on the one game, still clearly behind the other guys getting minutes, but showed some skill, definitely some speed, and desire in the way he played.
Found some video of Ellis' PK. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqQWdI9F_ws&feature=player_embedded"]Charlie Adam penalty, what actually happened. - YouTube[/ame]
"2-1 Easter defeat for San Jose Earthquakes Reserves against Vancouver Whitecaps Reserves" (Center Line Soccer - Wednesday, 4/11/12) (Photos: Lyndsay Radnedge of Center Line Soccer.) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Great seeing you again... need to do the super-secret handshake. Also--The Joe, Jay DeMerit, and LeToux (aka LeJerk to put it cleanly ) Shea and I think Beta were in the house too! Nice day to relax and to watch a game. Save for that botched PK it could have been a draw. If something happens--time to put in Garza (see what he can do) and Ike (who's way too talented to be on this side but obviously injuries have done him right now). Too bad the next Sunday game isn't until August though.
"Quakes reserves play at LA Galaxy on May 8" (SJEarthquakes.com - Monday, 5/7/12) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
sounds like this one went 1-1, with the turk grabbing the goal. Garza brought down Barrett in the box and LA converted to tie it up. Trying to find out other details
From a couple twitter feeds (Luis Bueno and LA Galaxy Gameday) - Sercan converts the PK after a handball in the box is called on Galaxy. Suggs sent in the cross that led to the handball. - Bingham saved PK but SJ was called for encroachment. Sarvas converted the second attempt. - Kareem Smith played centerback for the Quakes. Trialist?
"Reserve League: Quakes, Galaxy play to 1-1 draw" (SJEarthquakes.com - Tuesday, 5/8/12) (John Todd) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
So no Ampai or Hustedt today? They're not listed on the injury report, I wonder what's going on with them.....Based on the numbers (Thanks for that info) the lineup was: Pizarro - Guvenisik McLoughlin -- Moreno -- Alexandre -- Garza Suggs -- Smith (Trialist) -- Opara -- Ring Bingham No subs were mentioned on Twitter, but maybe they were made.... With Moreno starting and Khari not playing, do we interpret that to mean that Khari is starting this weekend and not Moreno? Would seem to be the case, Yallop doesn't usually play guys expected to start in the Reserve matches.
That was my reaction - my only thought was that maybe Moreno wanted to get some game minutes to help with his fitness. But that seems a bit strange, since he has played 229 minutes in the last 17 days (since April 21). Not a ton of minutes, but it averages just under 80 minutes per week. Even if the Quakes didn't have anyone else (although I still wonder what's the deal with Ampai), they could have used an Academy player to fill the void.
Earlier in the day, Wondo had tweeted: Ampai traveled with the team to LA, according to Wondo. Ampai may have gotten some minutes in the second half.
To think that other leagues around the world broadcast reserves games.... I am also very curious about Moreno..?
Based on the reserve game it sounds like our Mothers Day starting lineup is: ...Wondo Lenny Khari Dawkins. Baca Cronin Ram Morrow Hernandez Beita Busch Any other thoughts?