World News – USA – Earthquakes bring cheer to long-awaited playoff matchup against Sporting Kansas City

As September neared its end, the San Jose earthquakes looked like they would never win again. Cheerful opponents scored goals into the Quakes’ net with shocking ease. This was part of an eight-game winning streak that brought San Jose to the bottom of the MLS rating.

On 7. September saw the 7-1 victory in Seattle. 10, the first time the club has scored more than five goals in a game. Then came two draws to stop the bleeding and then resulted in a 6-1 home loss to Portland, followed by a 5-0 loss in Colorado. The playoffs seemed as far away as Pluto.

« Man, getting hit just that bad is never fun, » said Shea Salinas, Earthquakes midfielder. « You kind of walk off the field and don’t really know how to change it. ”

Somehow San Jose (8-9-6) has taken six wins in the last 10 games to secure last place in the Western Conference playoffs. In the Quakes’ first postseason appearance since 2017, they will face Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.

So what the hell happened? What changed to turn the Tanking Quakes into a playoff team?

« Matías (Almeyda) literally said, ‘We’re going to double, » said Salinas. « That made us, » OK, we’re doing this job better because we’re not changing. ’”

Experts and fans called for drastic changes in management, squad structure, line-up configuration and play style. In the locker room, however, coach Almeyda focused on another problem: his team just needed to do a better job to hold the ball.

When not in control of the ball, Almeyda’s unorthodox man marking system requires an exceptional level of frenzy to chase opponents across the field rather than patrolling specific areas. This degrades players over time, especially when playing a schedule that has been compressed by the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of the usual four games a month, the Quakes played eight games in September after playing just two in August.

The way Almeyda saw it, a few ridiculous mistakes in the 7-1 loss to Seattle undermined his team’s confidence and snowed so far that they couldn’t own the ball. And if the quakes don’t own the ball, they chase it.

So San Jose doubled its mantra of building from behind. In practice, defenders and midfielders worked tirelessly on remote training in their own box to find the open man in the face of the attack pressure. Earthquake coaches did not tolerate knocking the ball away in despair.

Almeyda’s bet paid off on Sept.. out. 27. On the way to a team they had never beaten, the Quakes finished the first half against LAFC 1-0 and were happy.

« In the locker room it was like, ‘Hey, we’re doing fine,' » Salinas said. « We don’t lose 5-0, so that’s better. We keep the ball and had our chances. « . ”

Then, three minutes into the break, midfielder Jackson Yueill shot a Cristian Espinoza cross into the net and sprinted towards his teammates. The bench of the Quakes was strewn wildly in pits of jubilation, and the catharsis of their 2-1 victory was palpable to all who witnessed it.

« I think that kind of thing reset our season and got us back to where we wanted to be, » said goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski.

A week later, Andy Rios converted a penalty in the 82. Minute into a 2-1 Cali Clasico win over LA Galaxy, followed by a 3-0 win over Vancouver. The Quakes redeemed their weak end of the 2019 season when they lost their last six games so as to barely miss the playoffs.

The good mood led San Jose’s accomplished leader to change his mindset about his future on the team. Chris Wondolowski, MLS ‘all-time top scorer, told Mercury News earlier this week, “I want to play another year. ”

Wondolowski, who will turn 38 in January, signed a one-year contract shortly after the 2019 season indicating that his 13th birthday. Season with the Quakes in 2020 would be his final round. But he has scored seven goals in the team’s lead this season while mostly coming off the bench, suggesting that there is more in the tank.

« Wondo wants to win. He’s a competitor, ”said Salinas. « If we win the MLS Cup, he’ll probably have a hard time winning it again. « . If we don’t, he’ll be itchy to win. I think he’ll be around for a while. ”

The management will only make a decision about Wondolowski’s future after the end of the season. Until then, the Quakes will focus on a Kansas City team that has set a 6-1-1 record since early October. Children’s Mercy Park will accommodate fans with 18% of the seating capacity. This marks the first time the Quakes have played in front of fans since the league sidelined in March. Strict guidelines from the Santa Clara County Health Department have kept players out of their own locker room at Earthquakes Stadium, and prompted the team to move all exercise equipment outdoors.

The Quakes are 2-7 this season, but the team welcomes their underdog role in Sunday’s matchup. San Jose won the singles elimination of the MLS Is Back tournament in Orlando earlier this summer, and the chaotic nature of their playing style makes them relatively unpredictable.

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