The Seattle Sounders FC climbed to 11-6-7 after defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 at home. Seattle has been red hot recently; their recent slaughter of the Galaxy and their strong game against Chelsea are exciting indicators of Seattle hitting their midseason stride.
The addition of Christian Tiffert, a star player from France’s Ligue 1, in place of Alvaro Fernandez (who will be missed) has helped to create some newfound, offensive firepower. Tiffert is a smart player who, along with Osvaldo Alonso, helps to control the midfield.
While Seattle dominated the scoreboard, the first half of play would have told a much different story. The head referee for the match, Silviu Petrescu, struggled to maintain the level of intensity and the amount of illegal contact between opposing forces. The Sounders and Whitecaps were at each others’ throats early; Gershon Koffie of Vancouver and Osvaldo Alonso of Seattle were exchanging pushes and shoves off the ball before the end of the first five minutes of play. A few minutes later, Eddie Johnson and Carlyle Mitchell quarreled leading up to a corner kick. Johnson was unhappy with Mitchell’s level of contact, which was communicated via an elbow to Mitchell’s face! Johnson would later be repaid when Mitchell “missed the header” and instead met Johnson’s jaw in a mid air collision.
Seattle’s defense held strong. The few through balls and breakaways were intelligently blocked by Michael Gspurning. While Keller is dearly missed, Gspurning has been a dependable replacement. At about the quarter game mark, it became clear what the Whitecaps strategy would be for the match: through balls and lots of them!
Around the 20th minute, Johnson made some of his patented step-overs, which happened to work, and put a strong shot on target. It was blocked by the keeper, but led to a corner which was nearly hit in by Jeff Parke. A few minutes later, Brad Evans put a shot on frame which was also blocked. Mauro Rosales gathered the ricochet and tried to backheel a pass to Evans, but he was unsuccessful at tricking the Vancouver defense.
In the 33rd minute, the referee missed what was clearly a handball just outside the Vancouver penalty zone. Immediately afterward, a clear foul was committed in the penalty zone was also ignored.
The first half ended nil-nil. Surprisingly, Fredy Montero did not start or play at all in the first half. Unsurprisingly, he was subbed in as a striker alongside Johnson in the 60th minute and scored quickly thereafter. He controlled the ball in traffic and placed a slow and low shot to the far post. It has been rumored that the Sounders star, Fredy Montero, may be headed to the English Premier League. IF performances like the one against Chelsea suggest anything, it’s that Montero keeps calm under pressure and can score against some of the top keepers in the world. Sometimes twice!
The Sounders FC found the net once again. Just before stoppage time, Evans broke down the sideline and found a wide open Johnson in front of goal. The cross was low and deadly. Johnson stuck a toe in front of it and solidified a Seattle victory.
