Sounders 2 – 0 Whitecaps
On a day in which the English Premier League teams started off their quest for supremacy, the Seattle Sounders showed us who the supreme team in the pacific northwest was.
The game showed us everything one would expect in a derby match, back and forth play, some shoving and cussing, and a couple fabulous goals.
The Sounders went with a different kind of look once again on Saturday.
With the addition of Christian Tiffert to the mix, Sigi Schmid is hoping to take the play making pressure solely off of Mauro Rosales.
So, with that in mind, Rosales was moved up front in the right striker position along side Eddie Johnson. Brad Evans was inserted into the spot normally played by Rosales, and Alex Caskey was in his normal left side wide mid position.
This will take some time to get used to, but with the upward movement of Adam Johansson, there is still plenty of play making ability on the right side of the pitch.
Love ‘em
Eddie Johnson does it again for the Sounders (photo facebook.com)
Win at all cost
We’ve all seen what this team is capable of, just look back to the last game played at CenturyLink Field.
But these Cascadia Cup matches have a completely different feel to them. Almost a playoff like atmosphere, which makes me wonder why we can’t win games in the post season.
Especially after the 2-1 defeat suffered in Portland during the last Cascadia match, the Sounders knew they had to come out pumped up, and take advantage of the Whitecaps mistakes.
With a couple good chances early that didn’t amount to anything, the Sounders came out strong in the second half, and didn’t relent until they were in the lead.
Eddie Johnson
This guy is getting so confident now, that he creates his own opportunities when not in the box awaiting a Rosales feed.
How many chances did he have before he finally scored? At least 5 I think. And they were good chances too, some mishit off his foot, and one that was stopped by a very good flick over the crossbar by Joe Cannon.
But, he saved his best for last, like the 88th minute last. Off a beautiful ground cross from Brad Evans, Johnson just stuck his big toe out, and redirected the ball into the back of the net, putting the Whitecaps out of the game for good.
Super sub to the rescue
Once again Freddy Montero makes a huge splash upon entering the game as a substitute.
In the 64th minute on a set piece, Montero seemed to somehow slip his mark and rest at about 8 yards out.
With the delivery to Jeff Parke deflecting off his chest, Montero seemed to be in exactly the right place at the right time.
Once the ball was on his foot, it was a piece of cake to slide it past Cannon and into the back of the net.
Freddy Montero #Felixing after his goal on Saturday (photo facebook.com)
Hate ‘em
Underestimating Darren Mattocks
This guy was definitely the fly on the face of the Sounders.
He not only kept getting behind the defending back line, but seemed to be everywhere on the pitch at the same time.
His peskiness didn’t create any goals, but did make the defense uncomfortable at times, and Michael Gspurning had to make a unorthodox save in the first half because of him.
Not finishing
A 2-0 score is a great score at home.
But this game could’ve easily been 5-0.
Some shots were deflected off their mark, but some were just plain missed.
Take the wide open look by Eddie Johsnon. He knew he missed a great opportunity, and thank god it didn’t come back to bite us in the you know what.
But when you are all alone in the box and you push it wide by that much, you are lucky to come away with a victory.
Darren Mattocks did the same thing on the other side of the pitch too though, so I guess it evened itself out.
For Gspurning, it was another clean sheet to add to his resume, and another scoreless outing to help pad his lead in the GAA competition.
Up next for the Sounders is Chivas USA on Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson California. Game time is 7:30 local time, and can be seen on KING.
