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Vancouver aims to snap winless skid against San Jose

May 2, 2014 - 8:33 PM Vancouver, BC (SportsNetwork.com) - The San Jose Earthquakes are eyeing a second straight win when the club travels to BC Place on Saturday to meet Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

After enduring its worst start in franchise history with just three points from five matches, San Jose picked up its first win last weekend in a 1-0 victory over Chivas USA.

The goal was scored by substitute Yannick Djalo in the 66th minute for the Earthquakes, and his emergence could be something to give the club hope going forward.

Goals have been few and far between for San Jose so far with the club having scored only three times in its first five games.

But forward Alan Gordon believes that once Djalo gets comfortable in the San Jose lineup, he could be a real difference maker.

"He's a game-changer," Gordon said of Djalo, whose goal against Chivas was his first in MLS. "He's someone that we've needed. He gives us a different dimension, and without him we're pretty one dimensional. He gives us that 'X' factor. It's great to have him. I'm excited to watch him get better and better as he gets more fit."

Vancouver brings a four-match winless streak into Saturday's match as the team is coming off of back-to-back 2-2 draws.

In its last outing, the Whitecaps fell behind Real Salt Lake 2-0 in the opening 10 minutes to goals from Joao Plata and Alvaro Saborio. However, the team rallied late to claim a point with goals from Nicolas Mezquida and Sebastian Fernandez in the last four minutes of the match.

Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted was pleased his side was able to get a point from the match, but he is also worried that the team is getting too accustomed to playing from behind.

"The whole first half was a horrible experience," Ousted said of the match against RSL, "and not the kind of team we want to be."

"It was fantastic coming back. We did it last week and did it again this week, but I think it's important not to become the team that always comes from behind. We need to get ahead and we need to play better in the first half."

Vancouver head coach Carl Robinson echoed that sentiment, and after giving up the first goal in each of the last three games, there is no doubt that he will be hoping for a better start from his side on Saturday.

"It's easy to play when you're losing the game and they played with no fear in the second half when we were 2-0 down," Robinson said of his team. "I want them to play that way when it's 0-0 at the start of the game."