Before the match against the Houston Dynamo, Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop commented, “Houston is fantastic on set plays, so we can’t have everybody 5-foot-6 playing.” And after the 1-0 loss, Yallop said, “There’s a reason why we didn’t score, and I don’t know exactly what it is, but we didn’t score a goal.”
Puzzling. The stats showed positive signs, highlighted with 22 attempts on goal by the Earthquakes versus the Dynamo’s eight. The only goal of the match came when Houston’s Ching was fouled in the box and awarded a penalty kick. The Earthquakes defense was solid, toying with Houston’s attacks. The midfield kept possession but weren’t as accurate with passing (close to 70% pass accuracy– this should be above 85% for a team wanting to play a possession style). Wondo kept his superman work rate and attempted to convert chance after chance.
But what went wrong? You don’t have to go far to answer that question. Simply point to Yallop benching his newly acquired off-season talent (shorter in height) and opting to use taller players. This is a typical strategy from a former defender now coach. When Yallop recognizes that technical skills can beat physicality, he will understand modern soccer.
The Formation
Rather than playing a 4-5-1 used against the Revs the previous week, Yallop went back to his beloved 4-4-2, perhaps to create more chances. Facing the Revs, San Jose only managed one shot on target and Wondo converted it for the only goal of the match. The 4-4-2 formation somewhat worked but the Earthquakes went back to the long-ball fest of last season, trying to reach big target forward Lenhart— bizarre to use this strategy against a very tall Houston team. In the 80th minute and begging for an equalizer, San Jose shifted to a 3-4-3. Houston was pushed back, more changes were created but it was too late. I would’ve liked to see our newly acquired Turkish striker Sercan Guvenisik, Colombian playmaker Tressor Moreno and Tottenham Hotspur, on-loan, English attacking midfielder Simon Dawkins start. All three bring a sophisticated style to the squad. If the Earthquakes dominated possession, a holding midfielder was not needed.
They had to attack and keep Houston on their heels. Holding midfielder Cronin could’ve replaced Dawkins once the Earthquakes scored enough goals (I would’ve liked to see at least three). Alas, all three players were benched and Dawkins wasn’t even substituted. Let’s not forget in the last preseason game, the Earthquakes defeated Chivas 5-0, three of the goals came within 10 mins thanks to Tressor Moreno and Sercan Guvenisik (a goal and assist). With the total goal aggregate, San Jose won the preseason tournament.
Lenhart: Last Season’s Mytical Hero, This Season’s Weaklink
I’m not drinking the San Jose Earthquakes PR press Kool-aid about the importance of Lenhart-Wondo connection. Yes, Lenhart is physical. Yet he normally draws one defender and another defender marks Wondo, neutralizing the main San Jose attacking options. Lenhart played much better than his last match by attempting to use his feet more, but his efforts were poor for a starter in MLS of 2012.
Hopefully this week, he can take extra practice sessions to improve his dribbling and finishing skills— basic stuff for a striker. He loves to surf, but he needs to learn to be better with his feet (his first touch is like a brick), making intelligent runs into the box (currently non existent) and finding space (he mostly stands in once place). And might I recommend him watching how a complete target forward plays. He should watch last week’s match between Athletic Bilbo and Manchester United. Bilbo’s target forward Fernando Llorente should be Lenhart’s idol, as Llorente helped knockout the EPL giants from the Europa League.
Expecting More
Do I sound grumpy? Yes! But it is only the second week of the season, right? Unlike previous seasons, the crying excuse of “we have plenty of games to play” can’t be used. The Earthquakes are competing in the mighty Western Conference. Each game counts, each point counts. We as fans must ask for better performances from our players and coaching staff. And the thought of being lumped with Chivas USA, oh the horror, the horror.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
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