Quaking

For a few years now, my method of coping with the vast footballing desert between May and August has been to turn to the comforts of the US, where the Major League Soccer season runs from March to October. Albion did a short tour of the West Coast in 2011 which pitted us against the San Jose Earthquakes and the Portland Timbers, and though the Timbers' astonishingly passionate support won my eternal respect, it was the Quakes who earned my loyalty. In 2012 I watched the side earn the nickname "the Goonies" for the never-say-die attitude which saw them blast in countless stoppage time equalisers and winners on the road to winning the Supporters Shield, and I was hooked.

After an inconsistent 2013, the Goonie magic's been back again this season; the Quakes equalised with the last kick of the game in both of their first two matches, and tonight they were taking that attitude 9,000 feet above sea level in a CONCACAF Champions League second leg in Toluca. Playing a second-string side against one of Mexico's top teams, they turned in an astonishing performance across 120 minutes and were robbed of a winning goal by the most dubious offside decision of the year, before succumbing to the inevitable on penalties.

There's a certain masochistic satisfaction to lending your support to another set of underdogs on the far side of the world, as if my local bunch aren't enough to be getting on with. I wouldn't mind seeing a bit of that Goonie magic down B71 between now and May...