San Jose Earthquakes - Deportivo Toluca FC CONCACAF Champions League (Tues, 3/11) in/post thread [R]

Quakes playing better than I thought they would. Good news ultras are in mid-season form. I would guess crowd is 50-50. 103 looks mostly Toluca fans. I'm in 104 it's around 50/50

 

I forget who it was that said Wondo was our No. 10 was it Bubba Watson or John Doyle?

 

The last couple minutes of the half the Quakes finally started putting the pressure on Toluca.

The backline has been pretty reliable.

Cato has had a decent game in both attacking and defending.

Pierazzi has shown some decent distribution in the attack and had a nice shot on goal.

Barklage and Cronin are either hot or cold.

I'm optimistic for the second half.

 

I hear ya Beerking, seems that most of the league has gone the route of having a true attacking center mid. It's very clear that unless we end up signing c.ronaldo & sanchez(barca) we don't have the type of wingers to really rely on and make a difference enough to win against really good teams. Seems the FO screwed the pooch once again, I'm just hoping we atleast make the playoffs, although i'm not counting on it. We might beat the bottom 4-5 teams in mls but I don't see us competing against the top ones.

 

Disgraceful officiating. We would have been far better off with a Mexican ref because they're actually good and they'd be embarrassed to be this biased and thus wouldn't be.

 

Cronin seems to be more cold than hot.

 

Pretty clear hand ball.

I think we'll see Gordon for a decent amount this half. We are doing fairly well in the air, but Salinas needs to hit the crosses flatter and with a bit more pace. Muma looks open on the backside if we can get it over the defense.

JBP pushes up high and too wide at times. Cronin is often alone in central midfield. I hope that doesn't come back to haunt us.

 

No, but I've watched the Quakes for a decade.

There's nothing magical about a "#10" that you can't get with a comparable attacker in the wide position. Obviously if you have no good dribblers anywhere it's going to be a problem.

 

Encouraging half...More high pressure and possession needed. Cronin has been a weak link. JJ for Cronin in the 2nd half...Toluca actually seems concerned about Cato's speed - in spite of his O deficiencies. Need a W boys...

 

Toluca is having an excelent season at Liga MX, with great players playing well (el pajaro, velazquez and brizuela) , and this is only the 1st Quakes official match this year..

 

yes, salinas and cato

 

Oh yes cato, oh no Wondo!!

 

Finally one of our wingers with a good cross......it only took 55 minutes!

 

Wondo again choking in the big game. WTF.

 

Aaaagh... on the doorstep... Wondo!

 

Wondo saving his goals for MLS

 

Quakes looking a little tired now.

 

It feels like they are just a game away from really clicking right now. I'm fairly pleased, but this is pretty standard Quakes behavior. Slow and timid first half, then a few moments of magic in the second half. A little better finishing and a bit of luck and the Quakes are two goals up.

 

It was a good shot and a good save. Not much to complain about, but frustrating. Feels like he's going to put one in eventually...

The Quakes run that like a play. Long throw in, Lenhart flicks back to Wondo. Seen it over and over again, it's like something they practice.

 

Gosh Cato is useless in the final third... Can't help to think how things would be different if we had Djalo out there instead.

 

goodnight.

 

Bernardez decided to ball watch on that one.

 

And Toluca capitalizes on their FIRST shot. This is on Wondo. He choked. DPs show up in big games.