SAN JOSE, Calif. – In three of four matches so far this season, the San Jose Earthquakes have never held a lead.
While the Quakes have done well to force a tie on two of those occasions – including a 1-1 deadlock with Toronto FC last Saturday – coach Frank Yallop knows that in order to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs again, his club must start to take the initiative on the scoreboard, not just in the run of play.
“Stat-wise, in this league, if you go a goal down, you don’t win many games,” Yallop said. “We’ve come back twice to tie, and we should have tied Salt Lake, to be honest. So that’s a good trait. But we’ve got to score first.”
As the Quakes prepare to face New York in Red Bull Arena this weekend (7:30 pm ET, Direct Kick and MatchDay Live), Yallop is guarding against an overreaction to San Jose’s propensity for falling behind.
“I don’t think we need to get desperate,” Yallop said. “Do I think we need to get more clinical? Sure. There’s a difference. ‘Desperate’ is not a word I’d use; clean and clinical in the final third, for sure.”
[inline_node:331476]In the shots on goal department, San Jose are sixth out of 18 teams – and they haven’t lacked for opportunities to break on top. Ryan Johnson, for example, let a chance go begging in the second minute against Toronto last weekend. The previous Saturday, Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller made a Matrix-style bullet-time stop to deflect a 16-yard blast from Chris Wondolowski in the ninth minute.
WATCH: Keller stops Wondolowski's blast
But that still hasn’t translated to the kind of early lead that leads to wins.
“It’s just the timing of stuff,” Yallop said. “The goal [allowed] was a mistake by us against Toronto, so you’ve got to make sure you don’t get carried away with, ‘Let’s get desperate now. Let’s start lumping the ball forward. Let’s change our tactics.’ No. I’m making sure that we are on track for how we want to play. Will it turn into wins? It will eventually.”
Quakes winger Bobby Convey thinks that the team could use more pressing early in matches, but cautions against players trying to do too much individual heroics to break the cycle.
“I think if we keep a good shape and everybody works hard, everybody’s on the same page, everybody can take care of their area on the field and do well,” Convey said. “As long as that happens, you just get confidence – everybody sticking together and nobody doing their own thing.”
Simon Dawkins, who scored game-tying goals in each of the last two matches for San Jose, says the problem isn’t a matter of needing higher-quality chances, it’s just an issue of cashing them in.
“I think these chances are good enough, especially [against Toronto],” Dawkins said. “We could have had two or three goals, and that would have been a totally different game.”
Until that happens, Yallop is satisfied to stay the course.
“A team like Salt Lake took a while to play like they want to play,” Yallop said. “It’s about getting the right people in the right spots and doing your thing. I think we’re doing fine. I think the four games we’ve had is the best football we’ve played since I’ve been here.
“Yeah, we’ve won more games and done better at things, but the actual soccer that we’ve played has been excellent. I really believe that. But it’s about winning, obviously.”
Geoff Lepper covers the Earthquakes for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at sanjosequakes@gmail.com. On Twitter: @sjquakes
