San Jose is the new top dog in the West. RSL is coming off their first home "turf" loss. Can we show the Quakes the same courtesy shown the former leaders, Dallas, the last time they came to town? Please post in-game PBP and results in this thread only.
I think Gregorio might play this weekend. I had forgotten that Scarlett needs to work out visa probs.
Ellinger said on the radio that Gregorio would play and if work visas come in by Friday that Scarlett and Cabrera will be on the roster. He also said he had called the powers that be about the inconsistency of the officiating. Here's hoping that we can get some good officiating and some great play Saturday. I know the fans will be raucous. If we can just keep the ball out of our net for more than 15 minutes to start the game then we should be good.
All I care is that RSL protects the net early. That would be a huge improvement to RSL's game. I've said it a million times, (because that is how often it happens ) if RSL plays some serious D early, we stand a chance against the West leaders.
I'm actually (as a Quakes fan) I’m a bit concerned about this one: That stuff masquerading as grass at Rice-Eccles seemed to stymie us last time, and we’ve got a Wednesday/Saturday home/home with the filth coming up (USOC and ESPN2 game) that I would imagine the lads are probably focusing on rather intensely. This could be more interesting than it looks on paper (with Cletus out)… Unfortunately, there's no tv on this one in the Bay Area, so we're going to have to listen to it on the radio. If you guys want to impress us, you'll have to make a lot of NOISE!
In case you guys missed it, both Cabrera and Scarlett got their work visas yesterday. Ellinger has said all of them will be on the bench, but only Scarlett and Gregorio will probably get time this Saturday. Cabrera is still recovering from Gold Cup injuries.
Ellinger seemed to hint that Scarlett might be getting a shot at left mid. Broome has pretty much locked down the left back spot and, barring injury, I don't see Scarlett getting much time there. In the same article, Ellinger said he Scarlett's game reminds him of Beasley and that he could give teams fits up and down the left side. http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20050818&content_id=40222&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
Going from Spartan (pinball on grass) to field-turf would stymie me a bit too. Think how different your passing touch would need to be. On Spartan you have got to play to feet, or the ball is instantly out of bounds. At RSL you have more space to work with, but the ball skips off the ground so much differently. I was amazed at how fast the surface played when I watched a game earlier this season. It was like watching NASL on Astroturf.
Ellinger makes it sound like it's not a big deal. But part of the GK's job is to organize the defense. Gotta wonder if Ellinger think's Countess isn't doing this properly. Also says to look for Brown starting up top. I know Chris takes some flack but you gotta admire the guy for being willing to do anything for this team. I'm suprised he didn't play GK yet. On another note, many, many moons ago I went to the [I]MN - RSL US Open Cup[/I] match. I have a few extra game programs sitting on my dresser that I haven't sent out. I managed to delete so PM's from folks interested in them. Sorry. So PM me with your name and mailing address if you want one. I know SoccerPrime was looking for one. I did still have a sent PM to Blittzfan so I've got his mailing address there. Did anyone else want one or three?
So, Ellinger does indeed shake things up a bit and puts Nolly in for a start Starting Lineup * 18 - Jay Nolly (GK) * 2 - Nelson Akwari * 3 - Rusty Pierce * 4 - Paul Broome * 6 - Jordan Cila * 7 - Andy Williams * 9 - Jason Kreis * 11 - Chris Brown * 13 - Brian Dunseth * 15 - Robert Scarlett * 17 - Kenny Cutler Substitutes * 1 - D.J. Countess (GK) * 5 - Brian Kamler * 8 - Adolfo Gregorio * 12 - Leslie Fitzpatrick * 16 - Matt Behncke * 24 - Seth Trembly * 25 - Gustavo Cabrera * 27 - Kevin Novak * 99 - Dante Washington
Will we see Davis get some PT tonight off the bench? San Jose Earthquakes Starting Lineup * 18 - Pat Onstad (GK) * 2 - Eddie Robinson * 4 - Danny Califf * 9 - Brian Mullan * 12 - Mark Chung * 13 - Ricardo Clark * 14 - Dwayne De Rosario * 15 - Alejandro Moreno * 20 - Ronald Cerritos * 24 - Wade Barrett * 26 - Kelly Gray Substitutes * 1 - Jon Conway (GK) * 7 - Ian Russell * 11 - Brad Davis * 17 - Chris Aloisi * 27 - Danny O'Rourke
I thought it was a diplomatic way of saying "DJ, you're not doing a good job organizing the defense. Time to ride the pine and learn the hard way."
It looks like SJ is overloading the offensive end looking for an early score. We need to make them pay on a counter.