My father used to say when he was really angry about something that he was "fit to be tied."
The Quakes, a team that is fit to be tied after back-to-back draws with Chicago and Los Angeles in the last two weeks, must by now really be fit to be tied.
Five games and one win. Four home games and a win and two draws to show for it. There have been bouts of good soccer, a half here and a half there. The best game the Quakes played was probably the first game, a 1-0 loss to New England, in which the Revolution had one real chance to score and finished it, while the Quakes had numerous opportunities and not one found the back of the net.
"We have not played well since (that New England game)," head coach Frank Yallop said after the 1-1 game against the Galaxy. "And I want to make sure our guys know that, and they do."
Saturday night the Quakes had a pretty effective first half, leading 1-0 after 45 minutes, but late breakdowns and the team ended up with one point and not three.
Three times this year the Quakes have had games in which they led and only one of them have they won. They were up 2-0 on Houston; the Dynamo came back to tie and the Quakes won 3-2. They were up 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 on Chicago and each time the Fire came back to score, including the 85th minute goal to tie it. The Galaxy's game-tying goal came in the 76th minute.
The perplexing part of the puzzle here is that the Quakes are nearly always having it bad in the second half. Saturday, they had five shots on goal in the first half, none in the second half. A week earlier coach Frank Yallop lamented how "awful" the Quakes played in the second half against Chicago.
Before you panic, be reminded this is a team that has played five games this year, and was put together from scratch last year. It is missing defender Jason Hernandez with injury, Darren Huckerby didn't play against the Galaxy and Bobby Convey is new to the team and has now started at three different positions. Three of the team's strikers - Weaver, Campos and Amarikwa - had never played in MLS before this year.
Maybe the answer is to get away from home, although that little trip to Siberia by the Missouri (Kansas City) wasn't much fun. The 17-degree wind chill, snow, rain and wind might have been factors in the disposition of the players, if not the 2-0 Wizards win.
Getting away from home helps team bonding and there will be plenty of bonding time. Three of he next four and five of the next seven are away from Buck Shaw, beginning this Saturday night in Seattle.
"I still think we are trying to find our identity," said Joe Cannon, the Quakes goalkeeper. "I think we have our thumbs on the problem, but at the same time we need to figure it out."
Campos gets first MLS Goal
Pablo Campos, the 25 year old Brazilian, who played college ball and PDL soccer in Fresno, got his first MLS goal Saturday:
"It's a great feeling, I can't describe it. I had some problems with my fitness at the beginning of the season but now I'm in shape, so I am feeling good out there."
Leitch leader in assists
Defender Chris Leitch assisted on the Campos goal, a nice 40-yard pass that made it on to the feet of Campos. Leitch leads the team in assists with three, which is now a career high.
Sounders more sound with Keller
Seattle's 40-year old superstar goalie Kasey Keller had to watch from the press box as his team lost to Chivas USA 2-0. Keller had been red-carded in their 1-0 loss to Kansas City the week before. After they started the season with three wins, the Sounders have dropped two in a row. The Quakes would like to make it three.
Beasts of the East
The Quakes have played the top three teams in the East (Chicago, New England and Kansas City), losing twice and getting a draw. Against two West teams (Houston and LA), San Jose has a win and a tie; a little too early for those numbers to mean much.
