- Marti
San Jose and Real Valladolid play out a 1-1 draw
FRIENDLY MATCH
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 1-1 REAL VALLADOLID
AVAYA STADIUM, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
Real Valladolid’s first outing of the preseason ended with honours even in a spirited encounter in the Californian sunshine. Tackling the San Jose Earthquakes, already midway through their own domestic campaign, Sergio González’s side earned a 1-1 draw in a match which saw wholesale changes throughout his line-up.
New signings Fede Barba, Sandro, Fede San Emetorio and Jorge De Frutos all featured in the starting eleven. The match began brightly for the away side with Sergi Guardiola’s long range shot dipping dangerously over the bar of Earthquakes’ goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell after just three minutes.
Striker Sandro, on loan from Everton, almost put Pucela ahead just after the quarter-hour mark. He burst into the box and coolly rounded Tarbell, but some great defensive work from Harold Cummings saw the defender clear the shot off the line to preserve the score.
Minutes later, at the other end, San Jose forward Shea Salinas went close with a beautiful curling shot from the edge of the box that narrowly failed to tuck inside Jordi Masip’s left-hand post. Masip – who had been relatively untested up until that point – was replaced shortly after half an hour by Samu Pérez.
In the 34th minute, Real Valladolid were awarded a free kick when Guardiola was felled outside the box. Sandro stepped up and struck a pin-point, right-footed effort past Tarbell to give Pucela the lead.
This advantage almost evaporated five minutes later, were it not for a fine stop by Pérez who stood up well to Salinas in a one-on-one situation. Defender Joaquín was replaced by Diego Alende, the B-team prospect, five minutes before the interval and Pucela went in after the first period of action a goal to the good.
As predicted, Sergio gave playing time to a vast number of the squad, making multiple adjustments at half-time. Only Pérez, Alende and new loanee Jorge De Frutos played in both halves. Recent addition Álvaro Aguado was introduced for his first action in a Real Valladolid jersey.
The home side equalised on the stroke of the hour; midfielder Paul Marie cut into the box on the right and sent a ball across the face of the goal for veteran striker Chris Wondolowski, who had only been on the field for three minutes, to slide in and turn it into the net. Sergio immediately made his second goalkeeping change, replacing Pérez with José Antonio Caro who had recently rejoined the team following a season-long loan at Albacete.
San Jose showed the application that has seen them impress in MLS this year as they pushed for the go-ahead goal with two chances in quick succession. Georgian midfielder Vako Akanyirige came close to putting his team in front with an effort that scraped past Caro’s post before second-half substitute Magnus Eriksson then fired narrowly wide.
Chris Ramos, returning to Real Valladolid after a year’s loan at Sevilla Atlético, tried in vain to find a way past Tarbell, looking on as his two efforts were unable to find the net.
The ‘Quakes were awarded a penalty but Wondolowski uncharacteristically squandered the opportunity when he crashed his spot kick onto the cross bar.
Nacho forced Tarbell into a save from close range with less than five minutes to go and the match ended all-square in a result which was fair on the balance of play. However, as with all preseason encounters, Sergio will look to assess the performance of the squad in different combinations rather than focus on the score.
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES:
Andrew Tarbell; Nick Lima (Vako 57’), Francois Affolter, Harold Cummings (Guram Kashia 45’), Marcos Lopez, Luis Felipe (Judson 68’), Kevin Partida (Jackson Yuill 57’), Eric Cavillo (Magnus Eriksson 57’), Paul Marie, Shea Salinas (Siad Haji 81’), Danny Hoesen (Chris Wondolowski 57’).
REAL VALLADOLID:
First half –
Jordi Masip (Samu Pérez 34’) ; Fede Barba, Fernando Calero, Joaquín (Diego Alende 40’), Antoñito, Toni Villa, Fede San Emetorio, Míchel, Jorge De Frutos, Sandro, Sergi Guardiola.
Second half –
Samu Pérez (José Antonio Caro 60’); Javi Moyano, Diego Alende, Rubén Alcaraz, Nacho, Kike Pérez, Álvaro Aguado, Jorge De Frutos, Waldo, Óscar Plano, Chris Ramos.