COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- The scoreboard said 2-0 and the standings now read three points, but the numbers only told part of the story of Saturday's victory by the San Jose Earthquakes against the Colorado Rapids - the first in the club's return to Major League Soccer.
The importance of getting that initial win and not falling too far behind the Western Conference leaders was a point greatly stressed by Earthquakes head coach Frank Yallop.
"It was our first win so that was really important," Yallop said. "Getting it in the third game was good; if you wait until the fourth, fifth or sixth game to get it, the season is slipping away. So it is something to build off of."
Despite admitting that they did not play their best game, the Earthquakes still were happy that they converted the chances that presented themselves.
"I think we played well last weekend and didn't get anything out of the match and tonight we took our chances well," said Yallop. "I thought we created some good ones and Joe [Cannon] made some good saves at the right times."
Ronnie O'Brien, who scored the inaugural goal for the reconstituted Earthquakes, agreed.
"Last week we felt that we had made some strides forward in how we played but we couldn't score; this week we didn't play as well but got two goals and we did what we had to do to win," said O'Brien. "We got a lead and then the second half we came out, defended well, scored our second goal and won the game."
Yallop praised his team for sticking to the game plan and singled out his forwards for particular attention.
"I think we kept them off balance with our play," said Yallop. "We talk about things we can do tactically to break them down before the match. It doesn't always work and you think the guys aren't listening, but tonight I think the guys took the game plan to heart and pushed the ball well. I think Kei Kamara was dangerous all night and Gavin Glinton supported him well and overall all of the guys played well."
The Earthquakes also had the better of the physical battle on the evening, and paid special attention to shutting down the creative players on the Rapids' roster.
"We can't let the good players play around us," said Yallop. "We don't want to kick them but we want to close them down. We want to play tight on the good players and make it difficult for them to play. We did a very good job on Christian Gomez tonight -- he's a very good player in this league."
O'Brien felt fortunate to get the goal when he did, especially after having a few early chances go to waste. On his 43rd-minute goal, Rapids 'keeper Bouna Coundoul made the initial save, but O'Brien was quickest to the rebound and knocked it home.
"I missed a couple of chances but luckily I got one in," said O'Brien. "It's not often you're that wide open. I was very lucky that the boys played some great balls out and I was open. I wasn't great at finishing tonight, but I put one on the board and that's enough."
Yallop hopes Saturday's win puts the Earthquakes on the right foot going forward.
"We have a tough next game next weekend New York," said Yallop. "But we're going to go there with the same attitude we had tonight and hopefully we can get something out of that."
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