You never want to drop points at home, but for San Jose, things need to be put in perspective. The Supporters’ Shield holders had to push through March with injuries to Steven Lenhart, Alan Gordon, Marvin Chavez and Steven Beitashour. With their striking duo back, the Earthquakes can start assembling the team that will compete over the rest of the season.
That doesn’t mean everything’s going to come together overnight. On Saturday, the team looked a lot better with Gordon in the starting XI. He provided the focal point off which Chris Wondolowski likes to play, a dynamic that produced San Jose’s first half goal.
When Steven Lenhart made his season debut in the second half, San Jose had their two number nines on the field together for the first time this season.
But the `Quakes still aren’t clicking to the same degree as last year, so when Corey Hertzog equalized for Vancouver in the second half, San Jose didn’t have enough for their trademark Goonie response. The match was left drawn, 1-1.
For Frank Yallop’s team, it was a step forward. You could see the team San Jose will be two, three months from now. With the attack starting to come together, the Earthquakes can start moving forward. Their proof (or re-proof) of concept is in place. They can be happy with the performance, if not necessarily the result.
For Vancouver? They just got a point on the road again last year’s Western Conference champions. Of course this was a good result, especially considering Kenny Miller was unable to do. They needed a bit of luck for Daigo Kobayashi’s deflected ball to fall to Hertzog, but holding San Jose to one goal, they made their luck standup.
Here are the highlights from Saturday’s 1-1 in Santa Clara.
