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San Jose hopes to take another step towards playoffs

Fri 10th, October 2008

Santa Clara, CA (Sports Network) - The San Jose Earthquakes are set for another huge contest on Saturday when they welcome Chivas USA to Buck Shaw Stadium.

The Quakes enter the match in sixth place in the Western Conference, but they are just six points behind third-place Real Salt Lake with two games in hand, meaning that three points on Saturday night would go a long way towards helping their postseason chances.

Chivas is sitting in second place, four points behind league-leaders Houston and three clear of RSL. They are one of the hottest teams in the league at the moment with five wins in their last six games, including a 3-0 win at D.C. United last time out.

For the Goats to clinch a playoff spot they must beat San Jose and have both FC Dallas and Colorado fail to win their matches, but the team will be missing a few key parts for their Saturday contest.

Defender Lawson Vaughn (ankle) and midfielder Raphael Wicky (ankle) are both out, while midfielder Paulo Nagamura (knee) and striker Ante Razov (calf) are both battling injuries and are questionable.

The team will also be without Shavar Thomas and Sacha Kljestan, who are both away on international duty.

Quakes manager Frank Yallop does not have as many lineup decisions to make, but his team must bounce back from a 1-1 draw with FC Dallas last time out that saw the Hoops grab the equalizer in the final minute from the penalty spot.

"I thought we possessed the ball well," Yallop said. "In the first half, I didn't quite feel the urgency was there. We were fighting for our lives but I didn't get that feeling and I told them. We can talk about tactics and all the stuff we're going to talk about, but if you don't apply yourself, you're not going to win the match."

San Jose took a 1-0 lead on substitute Ryan Johnson's goal in the 58th minute before conceding the late goal, but it came as no surprise to Yallop, who has been impressed by Johnson's ability all season.

"Ryan's done a terrific job for us this year, whether it's starting a game or coming off the bench," said Yallop. "He's a big strong kid and he loves to play. He wants to get on the field and play. He's like a caged animal really."

Johnson has scored five times with one assist in 25 appearances this season, and his efforts will go a long way in determining whether or not San Jose becomes the first expansion team in 10 years to make the playoffs.

With so many players out for Chivas, head coach Preki will once again have to juggle his starting lineup, which he has done plenty of times this season. The manager has put out 25 different lineups in 27 games this season, but Preki believes that his team's success is due to the approach they take.

"We try to play football," Preki said. "We don't worry about who's here and who's not here. Obviously we try to always play the same way, of keeping the ball on the ground and getting everybody moving, and we've been successful with that. With people missing, it's tough luck. Hopefully someone will be back and we'll be even better, but right now, we're happy the way things are going."

Brazilian midfielder Dejair is one player who Preki will be leaning on for a good performance after he put together an impressive debut against D.C. United, scoring a goal and recording an assist.

However, the team's most productive player in recent weeks has been Alecko Eskandarian, who has notched five goals and an assist in just eight appearances.

The striker has scored a goal in each of the last three games, and if Razov is unable to play on Saturday, he will once again take center stage in the Chivas attack.

Where the players come to play and STAY.