Yallop pleased with attacking tandem

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Win or lose, results from preseason games seem to always elicit the same response. A victory is accompanied by the fact that it means nothing in the standings. A loss brings forth the comforting notion that there is still time to correct mistakes. Either outcome is met with a chorus of "It's preseason."

So what exactly did the San Jose Earthquakes take away from Friday's 2-0 exhibition victory over the Colorado Rapids? How about a quiet confidence that comes from knowing the team is well ahead of where they were a year ago.

"I thought we attacked well, and we were quick on the break," said San Jose head coach Frank Yallop. "We still have a ways to go, and [Colorado] would probably say the same. Bits and parts of our game were good and some were poor, but I was happy with what we created."

Especially pleasing was how his forward tandem of Ryan Johnson and Cam Weaver continued to improve their understanding of one another. The pair was lively in the first half, and combined to put the Quakes on top after just eight minutes when Weaver headed home Johnson's cross from the left wing.

Granted, the two were helped by some sloppy defending on the part of Colorado, with Rapids defender Ugo Ihemelu guilty of misjudging Eric Denton's long ball in the run-up to the goal.

"On our field, the ball skips really fast," said Johnson. "I saw where the ball was going to bounce and [Ihemelu] didn't really anticipate it very well, so I got behind him. I heard [Weaver] in my ear, so I just put it across and he was right there."

Johnson added that so far, he and Weaver have developed "a sixth sense" of where they're going to be on the field, although Weaver added that there is still room for improvement.

"I think Frank was saying that we were a little flat at times, where one of us can drop off and pick the ball up at our feet while the other one runs in behind to give us an extra dimension," said Weaver. "We tried to do that more in the second half and I found a little more space. That positioning, that's something you can always get better at."

The Quakes might have had the match locked up after 30 minutes, especially with Colorado continually giving the ball away in their own half. But a combination of some poor finishing on the part of the Quakes, as well as a little bit of impatience in attack, kept the score at 1-0 for most of the half.

"I think we have to work on keeping the ball a little bit more," said midfielder Ramiro Corrales. "I think we were just getting a little bit too excited. It was so wide open at times that we were just trying to go."

San Jose finally did get a deserved second goal in first-half stoppage time, as Arturo Alvarez whipped in a free kick that was headed home by defender Jamil Roberts.

In the second half, the rhythm of the match was disrupted by a flurry of substitutions. But for the most the Quakes held firm defensively -- aside from a few hiccups that went unpunished -- and ended up with a result that nudged them in the right direction as the regular season approaches.

Of course, the Quakes experienced similar results in preseason a year ago, only to get a rude awakening once the games started for real. But Yallop is anticipating a different outcome this time around.

"I think we have enough experienced players who went through it last year ... that I don't think we're going to come out and freeze when we play our first game," said Yallop. "I think we'll be ready to go."