After finding a pothole in New Jersey, the Earthquakes will have two weeks to try to get back in alignment.
The Quakes wobbled in the first half of a 2-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls Friday night at Red Bull Arena. But the traction was better in the second half, especially after Chris Wondolowski and tricky Tommy Thompson were subbed in.
Now the Quakes (3-4-0) get a week off before a tough three-game road stretch: at Real Salt Lake on May 1, the Houston Dynamo on May 5 and the Colorado Rapids on May 8.
Though disappointed with Friday’s result, the Quakes showed flashes of their potential in the final 45 minutes. And they got the Red Bulls’ attention.
“There were moments where (San Jose) was the better team,” New York goalkeeper Luis Robles said. “Playing at home, we can’t have that.”
New York winger Lloyd Sam added, “We can play a lot better than that. Credit to (San Jose), they were really good in the second half especially.”
The first half was a different story, even though the Quakes nearly drew first blood after a Matias Perez Garcia cross on a corner kick danced across the goalmouth before being cleared.
First-half turnovers continue to be a problem for the Quakes -- not a good trend in a league packed with dangerous, attack-minded players.
The Red Bulls’ Sacha Kljestan broke the scoreless tie in the 39th minute after a turnover just outside the box, and Mike Grella made it 2-0 six minutes later after he was left alone on the far post.
“We were giving the ball away at the top of our own 18,” Quakes goalkeeper David Bingham said. “You can’t do that in this league.”
The time off should benefit the team (3-4-0) that is healing from injuries and learning to play effectively for extended stretches. The Quakes will continue their four-game road stretch at Real Salt Lake on May 1 in the Western Conference.
For the Quakes, a loss in New Jersey is no disgrace. The Red Bulls are 34-7-12 at home since 2012. They have beaten the Quakes five straight times at Red Bull Arena.
But Quakes were rightly concerned about falling behind 2-0 for their second straight road game, both on the East Coast.
"Well we can't dig ourselves in a hole,” said Wondolowski, whose point-blank blast was turned back by Robles in the waning stages. “We can't keep putting ourselves 2-0 down at halftime. You know I thought we played a lot better in the second half, but we have to come out with that mentality. (Against) Vancouver, we had the right mentality from minute one, and when you’re able to keep them from a shot on goal I think it shows where our mentality was, and I don't think that it was the same (in New Jersey).”
Much like in a 1-0 win over visiting Vancouver the previous week, the Quakes began moving the ball better in the second half and connecting on passes to create pressure.
“Came out better in the second half: Just couldn't score a goal,” coach Dominic Kinnear said.
In the 71st minute, Thompson controlled a bouncing ball in a crowd just outside of the six-yard box, but his short-range attempt was blocked by a sliding defender.
The big picture looks very bright for Thompson, who was called to the U.S. Under-20 men’s national team by coach Tab Ramos for the team’s foreign training camp in Linz, Austria (April 18-26).
