SAN JOSE, Calif. -- In the leadup to the San Jose Earthquakes’ final California Clasico of the 2015 regular season as part of MLS Heineken Rivalry Week, coach Dominic Kinnear discussed at length the dangers posed by LA Galaxy captain Robbie Keane.
“It may be 80 yards away from goal, but it doesn’t matter,” Kinnear after training Tuesday. “Robbie Keane is such a key player for them, and he makes the right decisions, makes the right movements to get open. He doesn’t really waste possession. That, for us, will be talked about a lot.”
The Quakes clearly listened. Facing the man who torched them for a hat trick as part of the Galaxy’s 5-2 victory last month, San Jose effectively walled off Keane, who came into Avaya Stadium totaling 13 goals and six assists in his last 10 appearances.
Holding Keane to just 31 touches and one shot on goal went a huge way towards helping the Quakes secure a 1-0 victory against the Galaxy on Friday, San Jose’s fourth straight shutout victory on the heels of a winless July.
“[Keane] is a player that likes to find space on the field, his little pockets,” Quakes left back Shaun Francis told MLSsoccer.com. “We made sure that we had somebody on him, or at least close to him, so whenever he gets the ball, it’s a backward movement. It’s not him turning and going toward goal.”
Keane could be seen trying to direct traffic through much of a first half in which LA couldn’t break through San Jose’s midfield, which featured newcomers Anibal Godoy and Marc Pelosi, each of whom joined the Quakes in this summer’s transfer window. Nevertheless, the duo played a smooth and controlled game in the face of a Galaxy attack that has scored 49 goals to date.
San Jose (11-10-5) now hold the MLS’ longest shutout streak of 2015, a stretch of 374 minutes and counting heading into next weekend’s home match against Philadelphia.
“It’s just the small things,” Francis said of the defensive improvement. “In practice we’ve been doing a lot of shape work, a lot of communication, and just working on what we need to do in terms of making the game easier for us as a back line. And making sure not to give anything away. Once we lose the ball, we have to make sure we are switched on and know where their attackers are. We can’t be lapsing and stuff like that. We have to know at all times where their attacking line is.”
The addition of Clarence Goodson -- who missed two games earlier this month with a hamstring injury -- coincided with the first of the four straight clean sheets. It also marked the MLS debut of Panamanian international Godoy, who still has yet to concede a goal in league play. San Jose have combined to outscore opponents 9-0 with Godoy on the field.
“Defensively, we’ve been solid,” Kinnear told reporters after the game. “I think Victor [Bernardez] and Clarence being back in there together has been very helpful. I think the pickup of Godoy has been a real good one for us, in a lot of ways – possession, defending, breaking lines out of pressure.”
Godoy was matched with a new partner Friday, his third in four matches. With Fatai Alashe and Matias Perez Garcia both still recovering from muscle injuries, 21-year-old Pelosi was slotted alongside Godoy with instructions to keep things simple and always keep one eye on Keane.
“For the most part, it was a good one,” Kinnear said of his defense’s night shadowing Keane. “He found some areas, but we always seemed to have a body in front of him.”
Now, it’s just a question of how much longer the Quakes can keep going before somebody bags a goal against them. Already, they’ve reinserted themselves into the forefront of a playoff race that seemed to have left them well behind.
“Our shape behind the ball has been so good recently,” goalkeeper David Bingham said. “But we have to continue that shape and continue to be hard to break down if we want to make a push.”
