SAN JOSE, Calif. – Ty Harden can still remember playing on teams that wouldn’t move him up into the attacking third, even if they were setting up with a dead ball in a dangerous position.
On Sunday, the San Jose Earthquakes defender not only got into the opponent’s penalty area, he made them pay dearly for his presence. Harden cleaned up a loose rebound after Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson couldn’t corral Clarence Goodson’s volley redirection from a long free kick, sliding to deliver a right-footed flick for the eventual margin of victory in a 2-1 win against the Fire.
It was the first goal in 7,522 league minutes for Harden, an eighth-year veteran on his fourth MLS club.
“There was a time when I wasn’t going forward on corners for some of the teams I was on,” said Harden, who scored for the Quakes in CONCACAF Champions League play in 2014. “Last year, I feel like I had quite a few chances to score, and they just didn’t fall for me in MLS. Obviously, it feels good to get that off my back.”
Harden likely wouldn’t have had a chance to show off his nascent goal-scoring skills if not for fellow San Jose center backs Victor Bernardez receiving a red card and Paulo Renato suffering a hamstring injury in the Quakes’ 3-2 win last weekend at Seattle. That opened the door for Harden and Goodson to get their first regular-season minutes of 2015.
While it wasn’t a clean sheet for the duo – Harrison Shipp put paid to that idea in the 29th minute, and goalkeeper David Bingham needed to make a huge save three minutes after that to shove Eric Gehrig’s header over the crossbar – San Jose’s defense kept the Fire from putting a single shot on target in the second half, when they were hanging on for their second straight win.
“It was an easy way to go about things,” Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear said. “Two center backs out, two center backs in and keep the rest the same. And I thought they defended very well for us.”
Goodson was making his first appearance since July 11 due to foot and toe problems. The U.S. international said that he felt good physically after going the full 90 minutes, including a full layout in second-half injury time to come up with a critical block on Gehrig’s blast.
“It was great to get 90 minutes in,” Goodson said. “I’m very happy to be back out there. It’s been a long journey, tons of ups and downs, so I’m just blessed to be able to play again.”
The outcome proved the Quakes right in their decision to keep four center backs on the roster, and also showed that Kinnear can mix and match without fear of a letdown.
“I think we’re all prepared,” Harden said. “It’s kind of similar to last year; we used a bunch of guys in the back and we seemed to all do a pretty good job. I think we have confidence in any of the guys we throw back there.”
If there was any moment of regret, it might have come in the immediate aftermath of Harden’s goal, when he was mobbed before he could get up off the deck and unveil his own personal celebration.
“I had one in mind, but it came to me too late,” Harden said. “It was a Bash Brothers throwback, but it didn’t get out that time.”
But with one goal finally in hand, how long can a second one take?
