SAN JOSE, Calif. – One glance at the Western Conference standings shows there is plenty of work for the San Jose Earthquakes to do in the final three months of the 2015 regular season.
One win would only be a fraction of the deficit the Quakes need to make up in their final 14 matches. But the emotional kick from ending a month-long losing streak with a victory against Portland on Sunday (5 pm ET, ESPN2) could be worth much more than just three points.
“In the standings, it gets us a little bit closer,” Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com this week. “Psychologically, [it would mean] a lot.”
The Quakes (7-9-4) knew things would get more difficult in July, with trips to Portland, Los Angeles and Vancouver. Still, the slide has been swift and painful, feelings perhaps intensified by the hopes that were raised by San Jose’s last win – a stirring 3-1 romp against the Galaxy on June 27 at Stanford Stadium.
Kinnear has said from the outset of this season that his No. 1 goal for the Quakes – who finished last in the West in 2014, leading to Kinnear’s return from Houston – is simply to make the top six and secure a playoff spot after missing two straight postseasons.
“I walk off the field at Stanford, after the LA game, I think everybody was sky-high, and sometimes I think maybe expectations get a little too far pushed out there,” Kinnear said. “You have to remain realistic. You look at the [July] schedule, those four [league] games, three are away from home, in pretty tough places to play.”
The Quakes’ best chance at nipping the streak in the bud came and went when Houston marched into Avaya Stadium and took a 2-0 win on the strength of goals by Ricardo Clark and Will Bruin. It was San Jose’s first defeat in six home matches, including games at Stanford and Levi’s Stadium.
- Get more San Jose news at SJEarthquakes.com
“It was a very tough month, but I think to a man we still have the strong belief that we can still achieve all of the goals we set out at the beginning of this year,” Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski told MLSsoccer.com. “A lot of it just comes down to doing the little things, coming in and preparing as well as we can, day-in and day-out. We have to keep doing a better job of that week after week.”
One thing for the Quakes to keep in mind: Just as there’s no way to immediately erase San Jose’s seven-point deficit behind the red line, there’s also such a thing as being too quick trying to take a shot on a specific possession – a situation that can short-circuit your own promising attacks. To that end, Kinnear was pleased with the way his club developed their attacks in the final minutes against the Whitecaps, including on Quincy Amarikwa’s 90th-minute consolation prize.
“If you look at the goal we scored, and the chance where Shea [Salinas] hit the crossbar and a couple others, our buildup was good. We had numbers around the ball,” Kinnear said. “Sometimes we are kind of running with one or two guys, and we’re not putting our foot on the ball. Patience does definitely go a long way in the attack, but you still have to have that eye for trying to move the ball quickly.”
