PORTLAND, Ore.—Head coach Dom Kinnear definitely did not go for his usual starting line-up for the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. In fact, the combination of players he picked found themselves in the starting XI together for the first time.
But despite a 3-1 loss as the final result, Kinnear said he was pleased with the performance. Instead, he blamed the Timbers’ first goal on a breakdown in the box that turned the tide of a match San Jose otherwise was able to dictate for stretches.
“I wouldn’t rotate the squad if I didn’t think the players were good enough,” Kinnear said after the game. “The players have shown enough to me over the course of the season that they deserve to play.”
The rotation was borne out of some necessity. Saturday’s match in Portland was the Earthquakes' third in just eight days, and players needed rest. But that didn't diminish the quality on the pitch, Kinnear said.
“We’re trying to keep guys fresh. For me to get greedy and put guys in the way of getting injured in the long term is a bit silly,” he said. “Knowing I can rotate and the standard doesn’t drop that much, if it drops at all, is a comfort.”
The Earthquakes came out aggressively, out-shooting the Timbers in the first half and dominating them in stats for possession and passing accuracy. But a lapse early in the second half gave Timbers striker Jack McInerney an opportunistic goal, which let Portland into the game.
New signing Kofi Sarkodie made his first appearance as an Earthquake, draft pick Kip Colvey picked up his third start of the season, and Anibal Godoy returned from a knee injury that forced him out of three matches.
There were moments in the match that should have been advantageous to the Earthquakes--but instead, the Timbers managed to turn them around.
Backup Timbers goalkeeper Jake Gleeson made a couple key saves to preserve his team's lead after coming on for starter Adam Kwarasey. The most crucial of Gleeson’s saves came in deep stoppage, time after Diego Valeri picked up a second yellow card and forced the Timbers to 10 men. Portland striker Darren Mattocks also came out early due to injury, but was replaced with Fanendo Adi--who ended up scoring twice.
“You can give [the Timbers] credit or you can blame yourself," Kinnear said in conclusion. "I kind of go in between on that one.”
