One month into the San Jose Earthquakes season, the attacking numbers are sobering. Five games have yielded only two goals. Two impressive home performances have yielded only one point in the standings, with the latest disappointment coming in Saturday's 0-0 tie with FC Dallas.
It was a match where the Quakes' high pressure game plan worked to near perfection. San Jose camped out in the opposition half for long stretches, found plenty of space on the flanks and created several clear chances. Yet the final touch remained elusive, and manager Frank Yallop was left trying to ease the pressure on his frontline.
"We did everything right but score," said Yallop. "What I don't want the guys to do is start to get anxious and worry about that. That will come, but it was a great performance by us. If you perform like that, especially at home, we're going to win a lot of games."
Yet even as Yallop tried to instill confidence in his charges, the disappointment was evident on the faces of forwards like Kei Kamara. The Quakes striker did plenty of things right in the game, winning countless head balls, making aggressive runs into the box, as well as linking up well with teammates.
Still, even Kamara knows that goals are how he is measured, and that a greater degree of ruthlessness and composure is needed.
"As a forward, I'm not going to have that many chances, and when I do, I've got to make use of it," said Kamara. "I would have loved to have given the fans one, so they could cheer. I can't call myself unlucky. I've just got to work harder next time to get something from the hard work that I did for 90 minutes."
To the team's credit, the attitude appears to be staying healthy. The more veteran elements of the team seemed upbeat, and like Yallop, remain convinced that it's only a matter of time that the results will go their way.
"It's always frustrating when you don't get the goal, and you don't get the three points," said midfielder Ramiro Corrales. "But we still have a long way to go. It's a long season, so we can't panic or anything like that. It's too early for that. It's a new team, we're getting to know each other. It's a building process and I saw a lot of positives tonight."
Among those positives was a return of the excellent midfield play that has characterized the Quakes' more impressive performances. The backline, with Jason Hernandez filling in admirably for the injured Ryan Cochrane, was solid again, so much so that goalkeeper Joe Cannon had little to do.
There was also the atmosphere created by the sellout crowd. The team's first game at Buck Shaw Stadium revealed a venue where the fans are close to the action, allowing them to create a difficult environment for opponents.
"As a coach, you're not looking around the crowd and listening to it too much," said Yallop. "But it felt really good that the crowd was really behind us and they saw a team that was trying to do all of the right things in the game."
Yet it still resulted in a zero on the scoreboard. And while Yallop was quick to state that there was so much that was right about his team's performance, he did reveal a hint of what is ailing his team in front of goal.
"I just don't think we're anticipating very well what we're doing, especially when the ball gets wide," said Yallop. "I don't think we're getting across people, I don't think we're pulling off people. We're kind of waiting a little bit. But the final touch has been just out of our reach."
San Jose will get a chance to find that touch next week against Columbus. Until then, the questions, and pressure, will continue to mount.
Jeff Carlisle is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
