SAN JOSE, Calif. – Alan Gordon’s not walking through that door.
Outside of Chris Wondolowski, Gordon is the only man in more than a decade to tally at least a dozen goals in an MLS season for the San Jose Earthquakes.
But Gordon – who scored 13 times during San Jose’s 2012 run to the Supporters’ Shield – is no longer with the Quakes, having been traded to the LA Galaxy last August. And the Quakes are still seeking the kind of productivity that Gordon and running mate Steven Lenhart once brought at the top of San Jose’s attack.
With Lenhart and new Designated Player
Innocent
out due to long-term injury problems, Quakes coach Dominic Kinnear hasn’t had a ton of options at his disposal in terms of sharpening the tip of the spear. Target forwards
Adam Jahn
and
Mark Sherrod
have pulled down the bulk of the playing time atop a preferred 4-1-4-1 formation, but have combined for just one goal, one assist and five shots on goal in 1,025 minutes.
“You play with what you have,” Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com this week. “Right now, we’re using Mark and Adam.”
That could be changing soon. Although Jahn and Sherrod will see time in Sunday's nationally broadcast match away to the Portland Timbers (11 pm ET, ESPN2), newly acquired forward Quincy Amarikwa (above right) -- who is not eligible to play for the Quakes until after the MLS transfer window opens on July 8 -- will soon get his chance. The Quakes hope he can quickly recapture the form that led to a career-high eight goals and five assists with the Chicago Fire last season.
“If Quincy was available, would he have seen time in the two games against LA?” Kinnear asked, referring to the Quakes’ league match against the Galaxy last weekend, and their USOC rematch Wednesday. “Absolutely.”
Kinnear said he sees using Amarikwa either to lead the line – where his speed would menace defenses, in a role similar to what the Quakes’ envisioned for Innocent before meniscus surgery felled the Swiss international – or as a second forward just a step or two behind a target man, presumably in more of a 4-4-2 look. The latter situation would be more likely during the rest of this month, with Wondolowski out on U.S. national-team duty at the Gold Cup.
“Wherever he’s gone, he’s done well as that forward,” Kinnear said of Amarikwa. “You don’t want to take away what I think he’s pretty good at – which is running in behind the defense.”
Even though Jahn and Sherrod haven't put up big numbers, they have made an impact on games.
For example, midway through the first half of San Jose’s 3-1 win against LA last weekend, it was Jahn’s near-post run that pulled Galaxy right back Dan Gargan deep into his own penalty area; by the time Gargan recognized the danger from the late-arriving Wondolowski, the former MVP was in position to volley Matias Perez Garcia’s steaming cross past helpless goalkeeper Jaime Penedo.
“Look at what Adam did in the game against Seattle [a 2-0 win on June 20 at CenturyLink Field] – he worked hard for us, held the ball up pretty well for us and it really helped,” Kinnear said. “He and Mark do a lot of the work. But I think Quincy can also play with back to goal. He’s not the tallest, but I think he can play as a target. He has the athletic ability and the strength to be able to hold the ball like the other guys do.”
