Seattle Sounders FC have played four matches with Chivas USA in their two year MLS existence. They have yet to score a single goal against the Mexican-owned side, yet alone manage a win. Saturday night it was more of the same as Seattle struggled to get quality chances on goal and eventually had their four-match winning streak in league play snapped with a nil-nil draw.
Sanna Nyassi and James Riley surround Chivas USA striker Justin Braun. (Victor Decolongon/Getty Images.)
Players and positive streaks were falling left and right for Seattle at the Home Depot Center.
Gone is Fredy Montero's streak of scoring or assisting in nine straight MLS matches. Luckily, though, Montero appears to have no serious issues after he fell hard to the ground late in the first half in an accidental collision with Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton. Fredy was less active in the second half, and is said to be suffering a bruise on his right thigh.
Gone for the next league match is Leo Gonzalez, who was inexplicably red-carded near the end of the match when he tangled with Mariano Trujillo, who ended up slapping Leo in the head on the follow-through of a foul. Perhaps the Sounders will attempt an appeal of the harsh ruling, which should have reflected Trujillo's greater fouling and dirty tactics on the play.
The Sounders were the better side on the night, but that will be of little confort to them. Ozzie Alonso nearly won it for Seattle very late on when his outside shot went whistling past Thornton, heading for the corner of the goal. At the last possible moment the goalkeeper flicked the ball just enough to send it inches wide.
Kasey Keller was jolted in the second half by a targeted shoulder from Chivas striker Alan Gordon that was card-worthy, though lead official Alex Prus issued no cards until a late yellow to Seattle defender Jeff Parke and the double-red debacle.
Blaise Nkufo has yet to inspire in league play. His touch is inconsistent and he isn't finding himself in the right positions to help the club use his height.
360+ minutes of soccer have been played against the Goats of LA, and Seattle have nothing to show for it but two draws over two seasons and now a possible momentum killer.
Gonzalez will miss the next Sounders league match August 28 at Qwest Field against the Chicago Fire.
The Sounders are now 8-5-8 (W-D-L) on the season with 29 points, good enough for 4th in the Western Conference.
Sounders FC travel to Honduras next for a Thursday CONCACAF Champions League group match against Marathon.
Seattle Sounders FC at Chivas USA – August 14, 2010 – Quotes
Seattle Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid
(On the match . . .) “In the first half, I thought we played well. I thought we controlled the game pretty much, maybe we were unlucky not to get one. But in the second half, they certainly came out well. They made a couple tactical changes which we had trouble adjusting to and I thought they did an OK job. But you’re going on the road and you’re not going to win every game and so to come out of here – it’s a tough place to play – to come out of here with a 0-0 tie and at least get a point, we’re not super thrilled with it but we’re not super disappointed with it either.”
(On the defense . . .) “The defense I thought played well. I thought we defended together as a unit. In the first half especially I thought we did a good job of keeping [Ante] Jazic [. . .] and [Mariano] Trujillo out of the game. That was good from our wide players. We always talk about the back four, but that was really good from the wide midfielders to get that done. I thought [Jeff] Parke was very good today and overall defensively I thought we were solid.”
(On what kept the team from scoring . . .) “Obviously there was a great save by [Zach] Thornton on [Osvaldo] Alonso’s shot at the end there. And just the final pass, final decision kept us off the board a little bit. Some guys didn’t make as good a final decision as they have at other times. Again, like I said, playing away from home and coming into a tough place to play, playing against a team that needs three points and making sure that they don’t get three points, and coming out with a point, we’re still happy with that.”
Seattle Sounders FC Defender Jeff Parke
(On the match . . .) “It’s a bit both ways. I feel like in the first half we had the better of the play. The second half could’ve gone both ways. I feel like the team put a good effort in. It’s just a shame we didn’t get three. One point is good at least. It’s not exactly what we wanted but it’s still a step in the right direction and zero goals [allowed] is good as well.”
(On what to take from the match . . .) “There’s still some positives. You’ve just got to move on. You’ve got to forget about it now that the game’s over. We’ve got the game on [Thursday] and that’s the next important thing.”
(On the red cards at the end of the game . . .) “It looked like two girls smacking each other. I don’t think Leo [Gonzalez] really got too bad into it. I think it was definitely a red on [Mariano Trujillo’s] part and maybe a yellow on Leo, but it was pretty funny looking from my vantage point.”
Seattle Sounders FC Goalkeeper Kasey Keller
(On the team’s performance . . .) “It was fine, but I thought our final third just wasn’t as sharp as it’s been lately. We got ourselves in a good position and mistouched a trap, messed up the cross. It just seemed like it was one of those days but at the same time I was happy with the way we worked as a team and we defended and we did some pretty good things. Definitely it’s a positive step. We’re now nine games unbeaten and things are OK.”
(On keeping a clean sheet without making too many saves . . .) “That’s always nice. I like it when I’m cleaning up a lot of things and that seemed like more of what I was doing. I’m just happy with the way we’ve been playing and the way we’ve been stepping out to block shots, the way we’ve tracked runners and got out on the counterattack. It really has been an unbelievable turn around in the last eight to ten games.”
(On the physicality of the match . . .) “It was a physical match but you expect that. It’s part of the game. I took a good shot to the ribs and that doesn’t happen too often and that was a little bit frustrating. Besides that little fracas at the end, I thought it was a pretty clean match. There were some hard tackles but nothing where you thought anybody was going after anybody.”
Comments
As long as we bounce back and beat Chicago on the 28th at Qwest, then this lack of offensive output is just a small bump in the road.
Should have pulled Sanna out. Hate the new layout.
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