SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- If San Jose Earthquakes manager Frank Yallop just looks at the home form of his team, he likes what he sees.
While the Quakes' home record of 1-2-1 isn't exactly scintillating, the expansion side has been competitive in every game, and with a little more luck the team would have picked up more points.
But luck has had nothing to do with San Jose's road performances. Not only have the Quakes stumbled to a 1-4-0 away mark, but their last three road matches, all losses, haven't been remotely competitive, something the team will be looking to change this weekend when they travel to Columbus.
"We did great in Colorado," said Yallop of his team's lone road victory back on April 19. "Other than that we've been awful. It's up to me to come up with a game plan where if we do concede a goal ... we're not sitting back waiting for another goal to go in. We'll get at the other team and try to get a goal back."
With six of the team's next eight games away, Yallop has been looking for any nugget of good news he can find ahead of this weekend's match, and there have been a few. Midfielder Ronnie O'Brien appears to have recovered from the back spasms that sidelined him last week against Real Salt Lake, while forward Gavin Glinton has healed sufficiently from hernia surgery to make the substitute's bench.
But what the soccer deities give with one hand, they take with the other. Defender Nick Garcia sprained the MCL in his right knee during practice on Tuesday, and didn't even make the trip to Columbus. That will force Yallop to tweak his backline with James Riley likely sliding into the right back spot with Jason Hernandez moving into the middle.
For Riley, his reinsertion into the lineup offers a chance of redemption. Not only is he looking to put his embarrassing own goal three weeks ago against New England further behind him, but he was given a torrid time by the Crew's Robbie Rogers the last time these two teams met on May 10, as the Columbus midfielder scored twice in the team's 3-2 victory. Riley indicated that San Jose will be well aware of Rogers' pace this time around.
"It's just about being able to read [situations] quicker, and not being afraid to drop our line deep" said Riley. "As long as we can keep them in front of us, I think we can defend them well."
The irony is that the previous match marked the last time Columbus has scored in league play, a scoreless streak that now stands at 277 minutes. But when it comes to extending that run, Yallop knows that offering a bit more punch in attack is just as important to containing Rogers, as well as the Crew's creative hub, Guillermo Barros Schelotto. To that end, he's hoping that forward John Cunliffe will repeat his performance against Real Salt Lake, one that saw score a late goal and almost net another.
Yallop also seems poised to give newly acquired midfielder Kelly Gray his first start since returning to San Jose, with Ramiro Corrales reverting to his more natural position on the left side of midfield.
"I'm just trying to give us little bit better chemistry going forward," said Yallop about the changes. "I think Gray coming into the middle will give us a bit of long-range passing, he's suited to that position. It's just a different look from us."
Yallop will be hoping that the change in personnel will be enough to give the Quakes just their third-ever win in Columbus. If that happens, maybe then he'll like what he sees from his team on the road.
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