In a frustrating game that saw plenty of shots on goal, the Sounders lost 1-0 to the Galaxy in LA. The Sounders were without Clint Dempsey and The Galaxy were missing Robbie Keane, but the quality was still plenty. The Sounders had 10 shots on goal. Jamie Penedo made 10 saves. The one separating difference between these two teams on Sunday was one defensive mistake, which is par for the course whenever these teams play.
About 90 minutes before the match, it was announced that Clint Dempsey didn’t travel to LA due to a slight hamstring injury, the opposite hamstring that he hurt in the most recent USMNT training camp that caused him to miss the FC Dallas game. So, there was a sense that there would a bit of drop off in terms of offensive quality for Seattle. But that was not the case, at all. Lamar Neagle recorded his first shot on goal of the season, and then four more, only to be stopped at the hands of Jamie Penedo. Ozzie Alonso was back into his old form, making tackles and connecting passes. Cristan Roldan looked great on the ball and picked out some very impressive passes. Marco Pappa was all over the place, connecting well with Oba. Andy Rose (Filling in for Gonzalo Pineda) played well in the midfield, aside from losing his man on the lone goal. Dylan Remick got up and down the left side well, all the while holding down well in defense. Plenty of chances were created, but not finished.
Defensively, this may have been the most impressive performance this season. Aside from a lone mistake, the Sounders were very solid in their defensive third. The Galaxy were missing Robbie Keane, but they used their height & speed to try to create opportunities to score, and there weren’t many. The Brad Evans Center-Back Experiment (or, BECBE for short) continues to improve. His marking & tackling were good, and his distribution was excellent out of the back. Chad Marshall had a typical performance for the 3-time Defender of the Year winner. Dylan Remick showed some bright spots that point to him becoming a good Left-back. I even thought the midfield did well in defense, with Ozzie being Ozzie. Marco Pappa, not one usually known for his defensive contribution, even defended well. Not very many chances were created, but the Galaxy capitalized on a mistake.
Sometimes you lose games that you play very well. Sometimes you win games that you play poorly in (see last week). That’s just the game of soccer, sometimes. This game could of easily ended 3-1 with the Sounders winning, but it didn’t and that sucks. I didn’t see anything from this game that was indicative of any trends that Sounders fans should be concerned of, other than the fact that playing LAG will generally result in a nerve-racking game of soccer. This game wasn’t fun, but it’s over with. Being a soccer fan sucks sometimes, but that’s the way it goes. Onto the next one.
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