The soft reboot in San Jose appears to be complete. Nearly a year after dismissing star coach Matias Almeyda and languishing near the bottom of the standings, the Quakes bookended this transitional period with a massive 2-1 win over league best LAFC at Levi’s Stadium.
The contest was a measuring stick for Luchi Gonzalez’s team, which had been enjoying a sort of renaissance since he took over after the World Cup—especially at home where they remain undefeated.
On the other side of the touchline, LAFC have been busy pushing through the upper stratosphere of the league. Champions in 2022. CONCACAF Champions League finalists this year. Undefeated in current league play.
That was until a Denil Maldonado tackle came a split-second too late, gifting their Northern California rivals a penalty in the 80th minute, bailing out the hosts—who had found themselves on the ropes against a giant picking up steam.
Christian Espinoza calmly slotted home the penalty to break the deadlock, his second goal of the night, which saw him in a three-way tie for the league’s top scorer. To their credit, San Jose attempted to play the champions straight-up. Both teams lined up in a 4-3-3 and were eager to possess the ball.
“We feel like we have a team that can beat anybody,” Gonzalez said after the game. “We want to play a certain way with the ball—always look to break lines and attack, be a threat. We want to create a lot of xG and actual goals.”
The manager was undoubtedly happy to see how his team opened the scoring in the 8th minute. Marquee signing Carlos Gruezo won a duel in the midfield and quickly passed it upfield where the Quakes found an overload on the right hand side. A streaking Espinoza found himself alone in the box, and coolly slotted home a shot in the bottom corner.
“During our preparation, we knew we needed to move the ball fast side-to-side in order to break their pressure,” Espinoza said.
But the visitors would equalize by halftime via a tight angle Denis Bouanga shot that was a result of a rebound off the hands of JT Marcinkowski. And in the second half, the champions recalibrated, pressed more, and built more patiently out of the back, stretching San Jose into a nervy stretch of defending.
“[LAFC] is a team that is not used to losing,” Gonzalez remarked. “So when we scored, they raised their level. And it’s hard to get pressure on the ball because they move it around so well.”
Before the penalty, Steve Cherundolo’s side looked like the team with more tools to change the game down the stretch. He brought on USMNT veteran Kellyn Acosta to shore up the middle as Jose Cifuentes pushed up front, giving LAFC sometimes a look of four forwards when in the attack.
And for every Cade Cowell the home side can call upon, LAFC can count on several more from their bench—with U22 stalwarts Kwadwo Opoku and Stipe Biuk entering the fray as the visitors doubled up on possession and shots.
In the end, all that mattered was that San Jose passed the test. This was Gonzalez’s A-team on the biggest stage his players have ever been on to-date. Stadium officials put the final tally at 45,112, which was four times as large as the Quake’s usual average at Paypal park.
For a half, they nearly outplayed the champions and eventually rode their luck in the second.
“There’s obviously still a lot of work to do,” Gonzalez said. “We weren’t perfect in the second half—fatigue kicked in and there were some shaky moments.”
A note on roster-building in MLS
Conventional thinking in MLS says you usually aim to spend your DP money up top. But for the Quakes, they’ve invested heavily in the midfield. Two out of three spots belong to Jamiro Monteiro and Carlos Gruezo, both central midfielders. Rounding out the middle of the field, captain Jackson Yueill is also up near the top of the team in wages.
Here’s how he described the dynamic of the midfield three at a recent training session:
“They’re great guys,” Yueill told Soccer Bay Area. “With Jamiro, he has the ability to find the balls in behind and you can give it to him in tight spaces and know that he’s strong at retaining the ball in close-quarters.”
“With Carlos, you have the comfort of knowing that he’s behind us covering, breaking things up which lets us push higher. He’s also a great leader and very vocal in getting us organized.”
And how does he see his own role? “I’m a little in between both,” he said with a shy smile. “I try to drop in between during the build up and then link up the play with Jamiro in the attack.”
At their best, they’re allowed to take up different positions and go find the game. Espinoza and Ebobisse might have the lion share of the team’s goals, but it is this midfield that allows the team to go.
About the Author: Kevin V. Nguyen has covered soccer for The Guardian, The Sacramento Bee, and The San Francisco Standard. Follow him on Twitter @KevinNguyen_89
