Coach Kinnear has some tough decisions leading into the Vancouver match
John Marshall
San Jose plays their second home game in a row this Saturday as they host league leaders, Vancouver Whitecaps. The Quakes’ come into the match on a two game losing streak after a disappointing home loss to Real Salt Lake on Easter Sunday. Vancouver on the other hand have taken the league by storm, posting the best record while riding a five game unbeaten streak. The tough matchup will be made tougher by the suspension to Innocent as well as injured defenders Renato, Wynne, and possibly Shaun Francis after he suffered a head injury against RSL.
With so many defenders out of the lineup, Kinnear will have to do some creative writing to field a starting XI that will be able to both attack and defend. It looks to be between Ty Harden and JJ Koval to start in defense along with usual starters Clarence Goodson and Victor Bernardez, and it’s likely Cordell Cato will fill in on the opposite wing just as he did last week. That still leaves question marks as to who fills in at forward for Innocent. Shea Salinas looks to be the favorite after coming on in the second half last week, while Tommy Thompson, a likely candidate for starts last season, is still looking for his first playing time of the season.
Playing musical chairs with the roster is going to be an extra challenge for San Jose as they try to contain the Whitecap attack. Vancouver was unlucky to only come away with one point against Columbus earlier this week as they created a number of dangerous chances. Octavio Rivero leads the league in scoring, playing in front of the dangerous Pedro Morales and Darren Mattocks, and their attack thrives on speed and passing. If the Earthquakes can’t contain their speed and close the dangerous passing lanes, look for Vancouver to take advantage.
If San Jose can counter and maintain possession, there are holes to be found in the Vancouver defense. The Caps were caught napping on the Crew’s second goal by Kai Kamara, who was left unmarked in the box after a poor clearance. San Jose needs to put the pressure on the back four so they can force them into mistakes and then they’ll need to take advantage of the chances they get. Too often the Quakes have squandered chances in front of net and, against the league leaders in goals scored, failing to capitalize will make things too easy for the Caps to score their fifth win in six games.
The match starts at 7:30 PT at Avaya Stadium and will be broadcast on TSN2 in Canada and on CSNCA in San Jose.
