1-3 win tonight after being down 1-0 at the half. It was a well earned lead at the half for Tacoma and could have been worse it they were a better attacking team. Skahan scored the first goal, but seemed to be a mixed bag in the first half. JT was left out on a limb in the first half and did quite well in spite of that. Things improved in the second half on defense and JT had to work less hard. He had a very good night with some sweet saves. Lopez and Calvillo were mixed bags with Calvillo improving after the half but still a little too much give than take. Lopez had his moments both good and bad. We may be putting too much on him but he did give up some dangerous situations. Fuentes scored his first goal and looked aggressive for the most part and did not give up the ball as much as last year. He seems to be quicker or at least anticipating better. He still has some growing physically to do as he appeared zapped when subbed out late in the game. He made a hard tackle that got a hard look from the ref but no card. He took some tough hits and bounced back nicely. Haji seemed to have a rough night and was the first player subbed. Ian must have jumped on the team at the half as they came out much more aggressive and focused. The substitutions of Gleadle and Richards in definitely turned the game around and opened up the pitch. Many of the SJ players looked indifferent at the start of play. They need to recognize they are playing for a team that cares and not think getting sent to play for us is a walk in the park or a demotion. If SJ keeps sending as many midfielders we are definitely over stocked on them. Richards and Gleadle have more than earned the right to start for us and the guys sent here need to recognize it.
Tacoma announcers mispronouncing Skahan all night annoyed me...do they not look at pronunciation sheets? The result of the match improved my mood. I thought Calvillo, Cheetah, and Alfaro played well most of the 90 minutes. Fuentes and Skahan had good 2nd halves. Almost everyone got better in the 2nd half. Tacoma got tired and Reno decreased their stupid giveaways. The better in the 2nd half thing is again, in large part, the integration of new players taking a little time then superior talent won out. Lopez can put in a damn good cross, but he was too much the back passer and his defense remains hit or miss. Fuentes goal was a goalie mistake, but still credit to Gilbert who had just taken a bad knock and was positioned just right. Reno’s goals all came from very nice assists. That’s very fun to watch. I would think Reno fans would really enjoy a Calvillo, Skahan central pairing if they keep getting sent there and develop a chemistry, but I do understand the previously made point of too many midfielders. And it was already as if there were too many on the field since Fuentes had some trouble staying forward enough.
Watching the game now...64th minute. Of the Quakes players so far, Fuentes and Skahan look the best to me. Fuentes at 18 y.o. looks like he will grow into a MLS player. He can pay well in tight spaces and uses his body well. I will not be surprised to see him get some Quakes minutes this year. Quakes are lacking an attacking mid and he fits that bill. Definitely has more talent than Erikkson in that role, if not the seasoning yet. I was impressed with Skahan. Nicely taken goal, but the play was made by the 40 yard thru ball to him, which I think came from Calvillo. Even before his goal I thought he was having a pretty good game controlling the midfield. He did disappear for stretches. Calvillo seems like a good, steady Dmid with an eye for a great through ball. But I'm not seeing an MLS player yet. Lopez looks much bigger to me than he did last year. I think he's grown a couple inches and definitely has bulked up. He always looked on the slight side last year vs MLS size players. I think a long stint in USL will help him a lot. Haji did nothing and was the first player subbed out.
I looked at Reno roster on their website and it looked like almost the entire Quakes roster is there including Espinoza, Wondo, and TT! Not sure why that would be.
We have a lot of midfielders on the team brought on this year so if SJ sends a lot of midfielders we will have an embarrassment of riches. I agree the team grew together as the game went on and you are spot on about the turnovers. I would like to know when the SJ guys were sent to us for the game this week. Hopefully it was earlier than the night before game day.
I just looked at it and no SJ players showing. Maybe there was a mistake on linking data to the site that is fixed.
Calvillo ➡️ Skahan@jack_skahan4 bags his first pro goal with @Reno1868FC! #VamosSJ pic.twitter.com/BrWTVGvPue— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) March 7, 2020
Atta kid, @g_fuentess!Congrats to Gilbert on scoring his first professional goal! #VamosSJ pic.twitter.com/WQwzBhPjPz— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) March 7, 2020
I think this will be Ian Russell’s toughest year coaching in Reno. I suspect that Almeyda will be sending players to him all season at the last minute and Ian will have a cohesion problem trying to get everyone on the same page. It’s probably going to be especially frustrating for the full time Reno players.
I hope you are wrong on what you suspect but would not be surprised if you are right. Ian has said that there has been good conversations with Almeyda on this subject but who knows what will happen.
Correction, I was looking at the USL website, not 1868 website. https://www.uslchampionship.com/reno-1868-fc-roster
What is the correct pronunciation, please? Ah! Found it, heard him say his name. Very good. Go Quakes!! Go Reno!! Fisher OUT!! - Mark
Thank you, that clears a lot up. That is pretty crazy, hopefully we will get to see some of the SJ starters playing for us. Well I can dream anyway., Haha.
Tucker Bone pronounces his last name as Boon. He is a nice guy, had a nice convo with him at our jersey reveal. Hope he gets some playing time as he is part of the midfielders.
He pronounces it more like: Skyn. No vowel between the y and the n. You can hear him say it on the Quakes website, go to roster, find him, view more. In any case, it looks like he’s got something! Go Quakes!! Go Reno!! Fisher OUT!! - Mark
I agree, but some of my fellow supporters are flipping their shit over it. Overreacting and fear mongering they say. Weak panty waists, then they go on to spout all the lies that support their view. Oh well, screw those idiots.