Quakes tweaking lineup for RSL clash
San Jose still searching for first clean sheet of season
San Jose will welcome back oft-injured defender Jason Hernandez to the center of defense, but the biggest change will occur in midfield, where Brandon McDonald will team up with Antonio Ribeiro in the center of the park, with Ramiro Corrales sliding to left back.
It's a move that amounts to some tough luck for nominal left back Mike Zaher, who has shown well since moving into the starting lineup one month ago. But Yallop explained the move was more about being stronger up the middle rather than an indictment of Zaher's play.
"We've not done well away from home, and I'm trying to get us solid and strong," said Yallop. "I think we need some steel in the middle, and putting [McDonald] in there will help us. I also think Jason's pace will help us in the back dealing with Robbie Findlay and Yura Movsisyan and guys like that."
The Quakes will be facing an RSL side whose roster has been severely impacted by injuries as well as the Gold Cup. Midfielders Will Johnson, Kyle Beckerman and Jean Alexandre will all be away on international duty, while attacking linchpin Javier Morales is listed as doubtful with a left ankle sprain.
That could cause RSL head coach Jason Kreis to cannibalize his lineup by moving a defender like Robbie Russell into a holding role in midfield. But Yallop isn't taking too much comfort from Real's lineup struggles given that RSL has been beaten only once in seven home games this season, while the Quakes have just one road point all year.
"[RSL] are tough at home," said Yallop. "The crowd is good there and they seem to play well at home. They'll try to play like they can play, much like they did last week against Toronto, which was an impressive performance by them."
The Quakes are taking some confidence from a 2-1 home win over RSL back on May 30. The win sparked a mini-revival of sorts for San Jose, as the Quakes have gone on a 2-1-1 run that has at least gotten the team going in the right direction.
"If we go out and play them there like we did here, I think we can get a good result," said midfielder Arturo Alvarez. "I think the team shape was really good defensively against Real Salt Lake. When that's good and we get the ball, it gives us the freedom to express ourselves."
The Quakes will likely be without midfielder Darren Huckerby, who has struggled to shake a thigh strain that has plagued him for over two months. But they will have midfielder Simon Elliott available following his exertions in the Confederations Cup, as well as forward Cornell Glen now that the Trinidad & Tobago international has gotten his visa issues sorted out.
While Yallop described the probable absence of Huckerby as "frustrating", he does feel his side is as ready as they'll ever be to make a breakthrough on the road.
"It's funny, you can't put your finger on why we can't play well away," said Yallop. "We've just got to make sure we're compact, tight, and take our chances when they come along. I feel confident the group can do that. We've got a lot of options to go by, and I think for us it's about making sure we are very tough to break down, and then making sure when we go forward, we're dynamic and take our chances."
Jeff Carlisle is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
