When a team is losing, luck is a dirty word to players and coaches, no matter how many cruel bounces go against them. The mindset is that there is always something under the team's control that can be fixed. San Jose's 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday in a U.S. Open Cup play-in game certainly tested that way of thinking, but in the end the Earthquakes insisted they had no one to blame but themselves.
Both New York goals had an element of luck about them. Davide Somma's attempted clearance in the second minute bounced off of New York forward John Wolyniec and then sat up perfectly for the Red Bulls' Mike Petke, who lashed home the gift from seven yards.
The Quakes, after huffing and puffing for most of the match, finally got an equalizer in the 71st minute. A quick throw-in by Chris Leitch found Pablo Campos in the clear, and he delivered a composed finish to knot the score at 1-1. While Leitch earned the assist, he said afterwards that another one should be handed out on the play.
"Give an assist to the ball boy, he did a good job," said Leitch. "He and I made eye contact and he got it to me quick. The thing about [Campos] is he's always aware of what's going on. He's always looking to break and is kind of sneaky. Pablo did the work."
But nine minutes later, a cross from New York midfielder Dominic Oduro was deflected by the Quakes' Eric Denton right into the path of Wolyniec, whose sliding finish beat San Jose 'keeper Andrew Weber at the near post.
"It seems we don't get much luck around the goal, and other teams are getting this and that," said San Jose manager Frank Yallop. "But you still have to keep the ball out of the net. It would have been nice for us to get a good result and move on."
That honor fell to New York, which despite the good fortune surrounding their tallies, was the better team on the night, creating some good chances, and defending capably for most of the match.
The Quakes' cause wasn't helped by the fact that defenders Nick Garcia and Jamil Roberts were both laid low by flu-like symptoms, and given the swine flu pandemic that is raging, the worry is that their illnesses could be more serious. But Yallop tried to downplay any concerns.
"Hopefully [Garcia and Roberts] are fine and OK for the weekend," said Yallop.
In terms of Wednesday's game, the illnesses, combined with injuries to several players, limited Yallop's lineup options.
"[The absences] made it a little bit harder tonight to have a strong effort with a group that has played together a little bit," said Yallop. "There were some bright spots, but we lost the game, and probably deserved to."
The concern now is that losing -- whether it's due to bad bounces, bad play, or both -- is becoming a habit, and with league-leading Chivas USA coming to town on Saturday, the Quakes can ill afford to suffer anymore home defeats. Leitch insists that the team's problems are all between the ears.
"We have talent on this team and we have quality guys, but it's the mentality, to not be soft in certain situations," said Leitch. "I think that's something we have to rectify soon, right now. If you look at both chances, they were the result of innocuous situations. Something bad happens, and boom, two goals. We have to stop that right now."
Some good bounces would help as well.
Jeff Carlisle is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
