The Quakes hit the training pitch early this morning in Chigwell at Spurs Lodge in the cold, biting London air. Today's session focused on possession and quick touches for the most part, and there was a lot of time spent going to goal.
Keep-away and 6v6 in a small space eventually built up to the 6v6 attacking goal. The orange team, comprised of Jason Hernandez, Javier Robles, Quincy Amarikwa, Brad Ring, Justin Morrow and Ramon Sanchez dominated the drill on this day, winning three straight matches. Robles teamed up with Amarikwa to score a pair of goals on the day, including a very nice link-up that saw Amarikwa break through on goal, beat the goalkeeper to the touchline, and feed the ball to Robles who tapped it into the open net.
The biggest highlight from training though had to be a world-class save from Joe Cannon, robbing rookie defender Justin Morrow of an almost certain goal. Cannon leaped just in time to the top corner to parry the header just over the bar. This save created a lot of buzz on the pitch from the players, as well as staff.
The Quakes then had the afternoon off on Saturday to go and check out some of the local Barclay's English Premier League and Coca Cola Championship fixtures. Most of the players attended Arsenal's 3-1 win over Burnley at the Emirates, while the coaching staff took in Queen's Park Rangers' 3-1 win over promotion candidate West Bromwich Albion in London.
Some quick notes; the three opponents for San Jose's matches on their trip in London have been confirmed. Monday, the Quakes travel to Upton Park to take on West Ham United at 2 p.m. GMT. Wednesday, San Jose will take on Tottenham Hotspur at Spurs Lodge, which is tentatively set for an 11 a.m. kickoff. Finally, the Earthquakes will play fellow MLS side, Colorado Rapids on Friday, time and site have yet to be determined. Make sure to keep checking back at www.sjearthquakes.com and our new YouTube page for updates on the trip in London.

