SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Marvell Wynne looked fresh and energized after the San Jose Earthquakesā 1-0 win against Sporting Kansas City on Friday night.
It was an act.
āIām mentally exhausted,ā Wynne told reporters after tucking inside from his usual right-back role to serve in the middle of San Joseās defense for the first time all season. āPhysically, thereās not as much running, but mentally, youāre always aware. Youāre always trying to prevent them from breaking.ā
Wynne helped the Quakes hold firm against Dom Dwyer, KrisztiĆ”n NĆ©meth and the rest of SKCās offense, posting San Jose's 12th shutout of the season in a match where anything less than three points would have effectively finished the clubās playoff hopes.
āYeah, itās his first time all year at center back [this season], but I think heās played over 250 games and heās probably played about 100 at center back,ā Quakes goalkeeper David Bingham said. āHeās no stranger to that position, and he showed it tonight. He played very well for us. Weāve got a great group of guys in this locker room, and when someoneās been asked to step out of their position and do something for the team, theyāve done it.ā
Without suspended stalwart VĆctor BernĆ”rdez, the Quakes needed to find another center back to pair with Clarence Goodson. In recent months, Fatai Alashe has been San Joseās de facto third center back, but he ordinarily starts alongside Anibal Godoy as a pair of defensive-minded midfielders.
So coach Dominic Kinnear went another way, sliding Wynne over and putting Cordell Cato in at right back. In dealing with injuries and suspensions during the clubās final, frantic playoff push, Kinnear has tried to minimize the number of changes to his shape and tactics, making like-for like-substitutions wherever possible.
In this instance, even though there was a domino effect of moving Wynne from right back, where he had made 30 starts this year, Kinnear felt it would be less jarring than switching Alashe to the backline (and needing to find another midfielder) or giving second-year man JJ Koval his first start at center back this season.
āWe, as a coaching staff, wanted to try to put what we felt was our best 11 on the field,ā Kinnear said. āIt really just moved one guy, and that was Marvell. Cordellās played right back before. We didnāt want to make too many changes to that, and I just knew Marvell would be ready for the game. ā¦ I didnāt really lose a lot of sleep over it. I was very confident in the decision. Luckily for me, Marvell made the decision very good.ā
Wynne credited Goodsonās communication with keeping him reined in, even as he instinctively pulled forward to join the Quakesā attack. The pair helped fend off Kansas Cityās trio of double-digit goal-scorers -- Dwyer, NĆ©meth and Benny Feilhaber -- to the point where Dwyer seemed to vent some frustration in the 82nd minute, delivering an ugly, cleanout tackle from directly behind Wynne, earning a yellow card for his trouble.
Sporting were limited to only three shots on target for the evening, with Bingham stopping them all.
āIf youāre in the middle, you feel every shot, every big save, every opportunity they get could have been prevented by you,ā Wynne said. āClarence in the back was amazing at keeping me in tune with his line and my positioning. He actually made it much, much easier to adapt. ā¦ Without him, who knows? Right now, I could just be passed out.ā