San Jose Earthquakes vs Atlanta United Avaya Stadium - San Jose, CA 11 PM EST Univision MLSsoccer preview coming. AJC.com 4 Questions coming. Happy Hump Day, campers! Hope you're all ready to stay up late, because we have kick off just shy of Thursday morning our time! (Do they still make NoDoze or has 5-Hour Energy usurped that product?) Fresh off the heels of a 3-0 win over hapless Colorado, the Stripes quickly hopped over the Rockies and Sierras to enjoy some south bay practice time ahead of tonight's game with the west's other bad team. Hopefully that form will hold as Atlanta adapts to the time change, elevation change, and the decidedly different climate. Atlanta jumped to an early lead and then expectedly went into cruise control throughout the 2nd half Saturday, so hopefully the team is in good form for today. Martinez is surely anxious to get back to scoring and San Jose is nothing if not meek on defense, surrendering 2 goals per game. But the Quakes are hoping for that "new coach bounce" after dismissing their manager Monday after their 5-1 loss to visiting SKC and just 4 pts from their past 5 games. They do have Chris Wondolowski, so there's that. Atlanta is now back atop the Eastern Conference and control their fate for the Supporters Shield. Win tonight and Saturday and there is a chance the trip to Salzburg, er Leipzig, er New York... won't weigh as heavy. Atlanta has no new major injuries and Nagbe's contribution Saturday was helpful. Expect to see further squad rotation tonight even if only thru the subs. San Jose won't employ the same defensive shape as Colorado and will try to employ more control in the middle of the field. Their best attack (under their old boss) was through set pieces and build-up play that allows more players to get forward. Look for Atlanta to have at least one other attacker loitering up front with Martinez in an effort to quickly transition into the opposing half in an effort to minimize the Quakes possessive play. If United goes 3 @ the back with Gressel as a deep-seated wing then look for the Atlanta press to extend high and trusting Nagbe to pilot the transition game aggressively. Nominally I'd wager 3-0 is in the cards, but the quick turn around will likely have an impact. 2-1 to the Stripes.
This match scares me quite honestly. The biggest reason for this feeling is San Jose changing coaches. Worried that the players will be invigorated by the regime change and bring their top effort. They gave us a fight at Bobby Dodd on the 4th of July last season and can see them doing the same in the middle of the night, tonight
HT: SJE 2-1 ATL Sloppy but entertaining match. Atlanta starting with a back 4 as Escobar gets the start over Nagbe. They would shift to a back 3 for last 10 minutes or so. Both goals surrendered were the result of defender lapses; First from lackadaisical clearances and the latter from just not marking their men on a deep lob. Atlanta not sustaining attacks, sometimes due to slipping on an apparently poor pitch tonight but also because of week/off passes. Definitely on their A game tonight. So far.
FT: SJE 3-4 ATL In a truly bizarre match Atlanta gets 3 goals in the last 30 mins to steal a win from San Jose, despite being the lesser side for most of the night. Obviously the biggest moment was the disallowed 4th goal for SJE when the referee instead awarded a PK to Atlanta. Watching the replay the penalty was correct but I'm still unsure of how it could be warranted based on passage of play. ie: If he simply went to VAR because Atlanta players complained then it opens a Pandora's box, IMO, about how far back the ref can look to consider a foul he otherwise missed. As for last night, though, the foul was given, Martinez converted and everything changed from there. Clearly Quakes players were rocked and I don't blame them. As to the game - Atlanta looked lethargic and soooooo many passes went awry. Fatigue, jet lag, concern over the Trade Wars... not sure what was the reason but thus was a shell of the team we're used to seeing. Especially in the attacking third so many first touches and final passes were simply poor. Martino started with a back 4 but early on that meant Atlanta's midfield was being overrun. I'm sure they didn't count on San Jose playing as well as they did, but their response was still lacking. Escobar was rusty and Remedi was a non-factor. They eventually switched to a back 3 which helped... Minus the botched coverage that allowed the 2nd goal as Pirez and Parkhurst each played "You got him!" with the lone striker. There was so much about the team's play that was just off not much can be said right now. Players had their moments, especially Miggy and Gressel. Tito's goal was excellent as was the final cross and header for Maetinez' winner, but Barco was very frustrating and most of the night I was resolved to this being one of "those" games. Take it and move on, though.
well that was awkward. If I were a SJ fan I'd be pretty pissed at the situation. I don't believe it was necessarily the wrong call (the handball or the review timing) but the scenario just blows especially with the extra special kick in the crotch in taking down the Wondo goal. When you're having a year like they are this is just the latest insult. As far as our guys? Several things to take away: New formation for us. Not sure I'd consider that a success. Let's stick with the 4-2-3-1 or 3-5-2 the remainder of the year, please. Golazo Tito! Incredible strike! After Orlando and Montreal it's no longer a surprise that he can do it but its always beautiful when he does Josef doing Josef things. Another headed goal and it was oh so pretty. That penalty on the other hand? Still hate those run-up shenanigans Thank heavens the roadtrip is over. We were sleepwalking last night and extraordinarily fortunate to take all 3 points. Moving ahead Loving the space created over RedBull NY by capitalizing on the game in hand. Our Shield to lose That being said, now is not the time to let down. If there has ever been a trap game it would be this weekend against Real. Back home, fresh stolen points in the bag, out of conference opponent, the security of a points gap, and potential looking ahead to the "match of the season". Time for 70,000 supporters to lift the boys up this Saturday night!!!
Just to be clear she's the one who opted out. By her own admission she'd been living a lie for 10 years and should never have become a mom. So, yeah, apparently we took different vows. The AU season tickets were my reward to myself after that was resolved. But I regress.