Tuesday, May 29 • Kickoff: 10:30 PM EST • Cagan Stadium, Standford, CA Well it's off to San Jose for a heck of a challenge in the Open Cup. The travel will be tough and SJ is a quality MLS side this season. ...but I think we have a decent enough shot at an upset. San Jose is coming off a game last night in LA, and they play Sunday in KC. Tough travel congestion, plus they will be lacking Chris Wondolowski, who is with the USMNT. Also I've heard they really don't take the cup seriously at all so there could be a squad of reserves taking on the Strikers. Heard news today that the game will be broadcast live on the radio, Strikers will have a link up to listen online. No webcast as of yet but we'll still be petitioning the Quakes to step up. SJEarthquakes and facebook.com/sjearthqaukes if you want to help nudge them towards providing a stream.
The Earthquakes have been, in my opinion, the strongest MLS side this season. They are first place in a tough western division and have the fewest losses in the league (just 2 in 13 matches). The Earthquakes have been the most consistent side by some margin this season: RSL and Seattle have had hiccups, SKC hasn't won since their 7-0-0 start, and only after a miserable start have RBNY recently turned it on. Oh, and the Galaxy... lmao That being said, the Earthquakes have started to stumble, and may stumble further in the next couple matches. The team has only managed two wins in their last five matches (W L T T W), a congested schedule coupled with the loss of Wondolowski and the suggested fielding a weaker team gives the Strikers every chance of winning this game. Let's hope we take it. We know coach Shore has every intention of winning this game, so I think we'll see our strongest lineup for this one. I know Dave Martin got the nod in goal for the second round, but I fully expect Glaeser for this one. Defense stays the same, Shanosky and Restrepo back in midfield, (one of Gebor/Pecka/Morales and King to the bench), and Anderson and Hassan up top. As far as the game being streamed, Huzzah! A few teams aren't broadcasting their matches, (SKC vs Orlando City comes to mind), so big thanks to @QuakesPrez and the Earthquakes FO for treating this game seriously... let's just hope their coach doesn't!
I was just about to post a link to your article, but you beat me to it. My favorite bit: 'The evidence, so far, is that, if you wan’t to have a first division team in South Florida with something approaching first division attendance, it needs to be in Fort Lauderdale and called Fort Lauderdale Strikers. If you want to have a team in South Florida in the second division with attendance levels approaching success for that level, you put in Fort Lauderdale and call it Fort Lauderdale Strikers. If you want to have a flop in South Florida, you put it in Miami, or you put it in Fort Lauderdale and call it “Miami.”' Great article.
Looks like the Strikers will get hosed on a home match in round 4 If we are lucky enough to make it past the Earthquakes. On a lighter note click the link for a great article : https://www.bigsoccer.com/soccer/mat...dale-vs-san-jose-c-2012-heritage-takes-a-bow/
My brother lives in San Jose. He told me the local news stations are referring to the Open Cup match as an exhibition game. Let's hope the Quake players enter the match with that attitude as well. Should be a fun match anyway.
Breaking news from Ultras Alive and Strikers media guy Ken Mendonca: ANDY HERRON has been declared fit to play and he is in San Jose with the team! Dunno if he'll play but he is available. Outstanding news!
Listen to what Earthquakes president Dave Kaval had to say about tonights game for yourself. Plus Ken Mendonca gives a Strikers update. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/soccersupportersradionetwork/2012/05/29/ultras-alive-50
one HELL of a shot by Anderson has FtL up 1-0 at the break. Can they survive another 45?................
Jekyll-and-Hyde from the midfield. You guys follow the team closer. Is the idea of midfield defense not heard of these days in Fort Lauderdale? I would say the better team asserted itself, at "home," so no big deal. Well, except on a night when a bunch of usl teams won... Learn how to tackle in midfield, [blasphemy edited]! I felt the same way watching the stream from the Minnesota game. FtL have a good shot stopper in goal, and his skills are way too needed.
We had our chances but lost to a better team. Nice chip goal by Anderson. He seems like the only guy taking any solid shots these days. It was good to see Andy on the field but he looked rusty. The team just cannot seem to hold a lead. Midfielders need to get back to help out with the counter attack. Gleaser did a great job stopping a barrage of shots but he sure messed up on distributing the ball at key times. One flub gave the Quakes the winning goal. Let's hope the boys shake it off and are ready for Tampa Bay.
The ability to hold possession eluded us all night. All they really had to do was make smart passes and not try to do it all themselves *cough*Restrepo*cough* in the second half and they could have held on. Mark Anderson has been unreal since he's been playing. Human highlight reel.
The guy who did that(DM) last year made MLS. The guy brought in to do that this year is currently playing CB for some reason.............
Don't isolate one man!!! There is 10 others who played on the field. It is a team support and each and everyone of them could play in the MLS. The problems is team work!!!! Or lack of!! You can't defend for 90+ mins every darn game. Your defense did a great job. I was at the game supporting SJ and was quite impress with your guys. Plus your CB was an excellent in shutting our forward down. So your assessment is all wrong. Your team as a WHOLE slacked off in the 2nd half.
He didn't say the center back was poor, he said the center back was originally hired to be a holding mid. You make a good point about team defense. FtL looked good in parts of the first half when there was a lot of high pressure that disrupted SJ.
I'm loathe to say too much about a game that is over, one where we had a very real chance to be a part of all the madness that was on that night all over the country. But we came up short. We were outplayed and outhustled. The question is, was it because we were outclassed, or was it something else? I would honestly say I thought the possession in the game was 85% SJ and 15% Strikers. It was THAT bad. And the cause was easy to identify - turning the ball over practically EVERY time we tried to break out of our own end. Rarely did we see more than one or two passes connect before the Strikers were dispossessed and forced to defend. Even with 5 subs available this team was out of gas by the last 10 minutes because they were chasing the ball and defending all night long. I guess the the only positive you can take out of it (besides Matt's stellar play other than that one giveaway that directly caused the losing goal) is that even with how much I was screaming at my computer and bashing my desk every 30 seconds after another giveaway, the Strikers still had a chance in this game. It took a couple of good stops at the other end in the very few chances we had to keep the Strikers to just one goal. Hopefully it was a learning experience for the entire organization.