Quakes aim to stay sharp, healthy
Yallop careful not to overextend club in Portland exhibition
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At issue is the quartet of players currently hobbled by minor ailments. Forward Ryan Johnson sprained an ankle last week in Los Angeles, while midfielders Arturo Alvarez and Ramiro Corrales both sustained minor knocks. Topping it off is the fact that defender Jason Hernandez tweaked the same calf he injured back in January while with the U.S. national team.
All four players were back practicing on Thursday, but it has left Yallop weighing his desire to get his full team on the field against making sure his side is healthy for the season opener next week against New England.
"What we don't want to do is push [the injured guys] too much and then get them re-injured," said Yallop. "We want to have as strong a group as we can heading into the first game. Having said that, we don't want any rustiness in the team."
The injuries have come at an awkward time for San Jose given that new signing Bobby Convey began training with the team less than two weeks ago. The hope was that Convey would be able to able to quickly strike up an understanding with presumed midfield partner Corrales, but the latter player's injury has put a crimp in those plans.
"We haven't had a chance to get the [first team] unit on the field," said Yallop. "That worries me a little bit. [Friday] we'll work a little bit on our shape, and hopefully have a team running out there that will be close to what the lineup will be against New England."
The center of defense has undergone some shuffling as well with Ryan Cochrane nursing an ankle injury of his own. That means Kelly Gray and Nick Garcia will likely be paired in the center of defense, much as they have all preseason, although given their performances of late, that isn't necessarily a bad thing as far as Yallop is concerned.
"Breaking them up right now would pretty foolish on my behalf because they've done well together," said Yallop of Gray and Garcia.
Regardless of the team that Yallop puts on the field, the emphasis will be on smoothing out any remaining rough spots in San Jose's game. Given that the Quakes have gone 5-1 against professional opponents this preseason, the list of pain points isn't long. But bad habits can creep into a team's game when they least expect it, and maintaining those tendencies will also be a point of emphasis on Saturday.
"Every game is a game for good habits," said Garcia. "For us, it's no different whether we're playing a college team, an A-League team, an MLS team, or a team from abroad."
Added Gray: "Frank has done a good job of keeping the good habits going through all of preseason. Anytime someone lets anything go, he's on it pretty quick. This game is just another stepping stone getting ready for New England."
Jeff Carlisle is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
