10 MAY 2008 - On a chilly night in Bulldog Stadium at Ventura’s Buena High School, the San Fernando Valley Quakes squandered a 2-goal lead against Ventura County Fusion and returned home from the first part of their Mother’s Day Weekend double-header with a single point, when three had been within their reach.
The Quakes lined up with the backbone of the team which comprehensively out-performed the Southern California Seahorses last weekend: Kevin Guppy in goal; Chad Borak, Robert Pate, Jose Esquivel and returning prodigal son Matt Tracy across the back; Taylor Canel, Matt Davis in the center of midfield, Devin Deldo and Sung-Hyun Kim down the wings, and Ryan Shaw up front. The lone new face was that of veteran Guatemalan striker Willie Sims, the older brother of Quakes stalwart Oscar Sims, who was making his SFV debut, and his first competitive start since being released by MLS giants New England Revolution at the beginning of the year.
The opening encounters were generally somewhat tentative, as is often the case, with very few chances for either team. In fact, the majority of the first half interest came as a result of fouls, with both teams unrelenting in the ferocity of their challenges. Fusion defender Armando Guerrero made his presence felt with a crunching late tackle on Sung-Hyun Kim which left the sprightly Korean writhing on the ground in pain and earned Guerrero a yellow card. Guppy was called into action a few times, stopping a point-blank header from Jaime Ambriz, and pushing a powerful header from Haitian giant Jean Alexandre round the post. Things came to a head just before half time when former Chivas USA midfielder Rodrigo Lopez was given a straight red card by referee Majid Berenji for a very late, dangerous tackle on Jose Esquivel, and when the durst finally cleared the first half ended 0-0.
The Quakes finally made the breakthrough three minutes into the second half, when Sung Kim unleashed a thunderbolt from the left side edge of the penalty area that sailed over Fusion goalkeeper Logan Frank and into the back of the net. Buoyed by the goal, and with a numerical advantage, the Quakes pressed forward looking for a second goal. However, the Quakes advantage was evened up just six minutes later when Taylor Canel received his second yellow card – and his marching orders – for a high, hard tackle on Fusion defender Joe Buppert.
Fortunately, the setback didn’t seem to stem the tide of attractive, attacking football the Quakes were playing. Deldo and Shaw looked threatening up front, Deldo especially being full of flicks and tricks, while Borak and Tracy made a number of powerful, rampaging runs down the right wing. The only slight weak link was Sims, who looked a little sluggish, seemed to dwell too long on the ball, and gave possession away too often, as if his match sharpness was not quite up to speed following his long layoff from first team action. However, after an extended period of pressure, debutant defender Joel Crompton, a second half substitute, scored with virtually his first touch of the game with just 15 minutes remaining, doubling the Quakes lead and making things much more comfortable.
Coach Juan Florez made a flurry of substitutions to replace tired legs and help sure up the defense; as well as Crompton, Florez brought on Aaron Hunter, Jonny Bravo, Max Griffin and Zack Walker, and as the clock began to wind down the Quakes looked comfortable, knocking the ball between them, enjoying long periods of easy possession.
Fusion’s Armenian striker Hagop Chirishian pulled a goal back with five minutes left, but for the majority of the 1000-strong crowd, it seemed little more than a consolation. Things could have been wrapped up a few minutes from the end when substitutes Jonny Bravo and Maxwell Griffin combined neatly, leaving Bravo running on goal with just the goalkeeper to beat. Had Bravo hit the back of the net instead of sending his shot over the bar, things could have been very different indeed. However, heartbreak came in injury time when the Quakes conceded a free kick on the edge of the area: Fusion winger Jason Leopoldo stepped up and buried the set-piece past Guppy with virtually the last kick of the game, equalizing the scores robbing the Quakes of what seemed to have been a certain three points 10 minutes earlier.
US Open Cup qualification now rides on the result of tomorrow’s game against the San Jose Frogs, who registered a 2-1 victory over Lancaster Rattlers tonight. The Quakes remain in second place in the divisional standings, three points behind the league-leading San Francisco Seals, who secured their second win of the season on Friday night, also over Lancaster. Anything except a Quakes victory will virtually end their chances of making the first round of the Open Cup this year. Let’s hope that the energy expended against the Fusion will have had time to replenish before they take to the field at 7:00 at Calabasas High School later tomorrow.
Match report by Jon Broxton
