The final score is:            1         1       You can read the recap here.       GO EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
I thought the Earthquakes played very tired today. They kept loosing control of the ball in the Midfield and on Defense. We were fortunate to get some very good saves by Onstad and to have defenders in the right position at the right time (Duinvant & DeRo) I think the injury to Brian Ching really hurt the guys spirit. DeRo is not quite ready to play the ~45 minutes that was asked of him, but he is improving. Hopefully the sub of Waibel for Robinson was just to help shore up the defense. We really don't want another big round of injuries to ruin our excellent supporter shield and MLS Cup chances. Any word on the extend of Manny Lagos's ankle injury? (He didn't play today) Overall the Road trip was an outstanding effort by the Quakes to get 10 of 12 possible points and to tie a League leading road unbeaten streak of 7 games.
Do you realize how hot it was today? Absolutely unbelievable today, and after two players went down at the Meadowlands Wednesday, who'd blame them. The key to a game played in that condition is conserving energy. I know the game seemed to be in slow motion, but you don't want any of the players do go down. Ching either blew out his knee or broke his leg. On the replay of it, Pierce was behind him and he was motioning to the sideline, so obviously Rusty heard something pop or break. In all though, I think considering this was the third straight road game for them, the Quakes played well.
      And very likely Frank Yallop's spirit as well.       I can imagine how deflated Yallop must've felt upon hearing that Brian Ching was mostly likely lost for the season. It was probably similar to how Bill Walsh felt after losing both defensive-end Dwayne Board and back-to-back Len Eshmont Award winning running-back Paul Hofer to season-ending injuries in a game in 1980 that the 49ers came back to win (Board did eventually return the following season to help the Niners in their early Super Bowl years, but Hofer never played again). Walsh even told the media after the game that "I would rather have lost this game and kept those two players healthy."       Unless the Quakes quickly pick up another big, crash-to-the-box style forward to take some of the pressure off of Landon Donovan, Ching's injury could hurt the team worse than we can now only imagine.       GO EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Assesment of the game: Overall, today's performance was gritty and, once again, a game that a championship team gets a point from. It was hot, humid, and they were tired, but they held onto the point they so desperately needed. New England seemed to want it more, but San Jose held on. The whole team though, with perhaps the exception of Mulrooney, seemed very worn out by the second half. We saw great bursts of speed from Russel, Donovan, and Mullan in the first half, but Mulrooney held on. It'll be good for them to get back home and try to rack up some quality points before the stretch run during the middle of September. The first half saw great control in the midfield and offensive third. Despite the lopsided stats though, New England really only had two good chances. One was the goal (which was obviously converted), and the other was the sure-goal that was cleared off the line by Dunivant. Robinson did seem a little off of his game today, and, in my mind, was an understandable substitution that I don't think was injury related. About the ref: I thought he was doing a pretty decent job (although I thought Pierce deserved a yellow for his foul on Donovan and subsequent dissent) until the second half. There were several nasty fouls (on both teams) and quite a few players could have gotten seriously injured. Fortunately, no one else got hurt after that Ching incident (if you discount the Ekelund "bang-up." On Ching: It's a really unfortunate injury. While I think DeRosario could do the job, right now he cannot go the full ninety. But if this season has taught me anything, it's that I should have complete and utter faith in Frank Yallop's ability as a coach. The unfortunate side-effect of this is that it may put a hold on the Mulrooney signing in the circumstance that we need to sign a new forward. While I hope this actually happens, we'll have to wait and see (and I'd really like to see Mulrooney re-sign with the league.)
I am glad it ended in a tie rather than a loss. By the end of the game, it seemed as though the guys just could not hold on to the ball. The rest during the rain delay helped a little. At least they will be home for the next three games. I have one problem with the whole game today. Landon needs to quit complaining about every thing that happens to him. Can he not take it like a man? I am just a little sick of him getting in the refs faces about simple things. We all know that the refs are blind and def. He does this all the time yet only one or two calls will go in his favor. I am sarcastic about a lot of things and I feel that we are praising the "poster boy of American soccer" as a cry baby.
Yeah, well, what about Pierce's foul (that ultimately led to the goal). Donovan was passed him and Rusty just swung, missed the ball, and got LD in the thigh. That was uncalled for. Another bone to pick: Shalorie Joseph holds and hacks people all day long and yet when one player (Russell) sticks up for himself, he gets the card. Joseph got away with murder today. Kudos to Onstad. He saved a sure goal in the first half and made some more outstanding saves throughout the game. I'm miffed that he was snubbed by the league.
Ching is done. I talked to Ronnie, Weibel, and Manny, and Chign is toast. Surgery when they get home, can't train for 5 months. Toast. I was behind the South goal, not the best of viewing points, but it seemed liek up until the Revs scored, the Quakes sort of jsut piddled around with the ball in the back, not really trying to make an attack. Dunno how ESPN played it, but the rainstorm ROCKED.
Re: Re: New England - San Jose (Saturday, 8/16) postgame thread [R] The look on his face said it all when Eklund came to the sideline to tell him what's going on while Ching was still on the ground. I don't think I've ever seen him look so down. I'm sure he feels pretty snake bitten (I know I do)....
You were lucky to get the point. Moore clearly tripped in the box and no PK awarded. And Kamler should have scored, had he looked up and picked his spot he had either near or far post but he simply blasted it straight on frame. Plus, your goal was a deflection. We left the two points on the table, no question. BTW, ESPN played the rain, although Rob Stone must have mentioned about 1,000 times that they'd be switching to the Little League straight away. Almost apologetic.
Few things: We controlled the ball much more in the first half, but as I said, we jsut played around with it in the back. Rob Stone still sucks. I'm sure he just wanted us to feel sorry for him. I want Jack back.
I agree. This was bizarre. The ref was pretty consistant all day except for ignoring the fouls committed by this one player. What's up with that? -KMJvet
TV replay didn't bear this out. Looked like your basic dive when you're desperate after realizing you can't run through two players. But Llamosa did get away with nearly pulling Mullan's shorts off in the box. -KMJvet
The replay clearly showed that Moore was trying to squeeze between two defenders and then flopped (or tripped himself, which is more likely.) Any contact that may have resulted is merely incidental. In fact, if you watch it again, you'll see that Moore is actually starting to lift up his hands (making the case for a penalty kick) before he even hits the ground. Two things, Kamler didn't score; it was blocked so your point is moot. Second, I think you've confused Twellman's goal with the Ekelund free kick. Twellman's goal deflected off a defender before it went just out of Pat Onstad's reach. Next time, don't come onto our boards to vent your frustration in having not won in almost two months, okay?
      "Quakes Tie Revs, But Lose Ching"       GO EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
We looked tired but got the point. Good job. The Ching loss is bad. That's an injury that could hurt his career. It's such a shame. DeRo looked awful today, like he's not ready yet. Keep in mind the best thing about DeRo's game is that he runs like crazy everywhere all the time and today he seemed to do a lot of standing around, not what you want to see given his type/level of skill. I'm sure that some combo of DeRo/Mullan/Walker will suffice for the rest of the year but not having a target like Ching will really hurt us. I know Yallop has been pulling off magic all year but one just wonders what effect this will have come playoff time.
The loss of Ching was horrible. Thats the big thing Im taking away from the game. Only other thing is that it was nice to get a point despite being tired. A point we didnt deserve.
Now doctors are going to have string back together Ching's achilles. I've heard it's basically like putting a rope together, one string at a time.
Sorry to hear about Ching: he's been a solid player for the Quakes this year and it's a terrible injury. I've actually seen and yes, heard someone blow out their Achilles in front of me - it's pretty humbling to watch, can't imagine what it actually feels like. Unreal weather: The Magpie
my two cents on the Ching injury: the center of the pitch looked like a stampede has gone through...choppy, dirt patches, etc. it is no wonder someone got hurt....all the more reason to get out of multi-uses and into one's SSS.. the case becomes clearer with every injury (Kries)... hopefully Walker and LD can hook up well, becasue DeRo just ain't ready yet.... or Mullan goes back up front and Manny/Ramiro/Arturo take over the left mid slot... Brian Ching, get well soon...
http://www.mlsnet.com/multimedia/pepsi/index.php If you watch Ronnie's goal, you can hear a "Ro-nnie Eke-lund! Clap Clap Clap-Clap-Clap" cheer in the background. Guess who?