If Seattle fans aren’t planning the parade route just yet, they are thinking about heading down to city hall to pick up the permit applications. Playing like a team that had just chugged back 16 cans of, well, Red Bull, the Sounders made an impressive return to division 1 soccer last night, beating a hapless looking New York 3-0.
It was the Fredy Montero show. The young Colombian scored a brace in his first ever MLS game and looked damn good doing it. If the kid is around all year, and plays teams with Andrew Boynes on defence every week, he’ll put up some huge numbers.
And that crowd! Loud and louder all night—a green wave of footy passion never before seen in MLS south of the 49.
But what does it all mean? Does it mean that Seattle is really the plus 40 point playoff bound juggernaut that many are saying? Well, let’s just take a look at that carefully.
Look, that was a pretty nice little game last night. If I were a Sounders guy I’d be excited too. If I were a New York guy I’d be petrified. As good as Seattle looked, New York looked worse. Now the Bulls are missing some internationals that have yet to arrive, but so far the NYC makeover doesn’t look as hot as advertised. They were killed in the midfield last night by an expansion team. That’s not good, even when said expansion team has a Colombian wunderkind.
About that. Montero almost looked to good last night. In the chat I ran people were already speculating on when he would be sold to Europe. One game is way too early to say that last night was a trend (hell, he might not score again for all we know), but he sure looked like the real deal. Complicating things is that Seattle has him as a loan player. MLS may not fully control his movement. If he is sold mid-season let’s hope that someone in the Seattle FO has a good story to tell the pissed mother who is out stitching Montero on the back of her kid’s jersey today.
What will be interesting and telling is how Seattle looks next week against Salt Lake. The football team from Utah is a hell of a lot better at the back than New York and will probably offer a bit more resistance to the great green wave (a u-4 co-ed house league team might offer more resistance than Energy Drink did last night).
Even more interesting will be Seattle’s road debut here in Toronto. MLS is a home league, more than most. If the Sounders can go to BMO and play like they did last night than this team really might be for real.
As for the crowd, as stated, it was great. It struck me as being a bit different than what we see in Toronto (which is the only other full and fully involved crowd in MLS to compare it to). Although you could make out singing from time to time (and typing this I know that someone that was in the supporters section last night will tell me that they rocked the joint), it was more of a constant noise than an organized one. With a marching band. Which I’m still nowhere near sold on. It sounded like a rowdy college football crowd more than a rowdy European football crowd. And that’s fine. More than fine. Every city should have its own culture anyway.
Regardless, it’s MLS season again. Seattle is in the Supporter’s Shield position, it’s the first day of spring and we’re about 28-hours from the next games. Nothing, not even New York’s stink of a performance last night, can take away the joy.
Especially in Seattle, I suspect.
Basketball: Just desserts ...
2 days ago
7 comments:
Red Bull was weakened due to not having something like four of their "ideal" starting lineup, but still Seattle showed that having a team with players who know each other well (3 USL Sounders started, 2 Deportivo Cali started and the team started training with Keller last Fall).
My full analysis will be up soon, but I'm glad you watched and saw the new era.
this is a good assessment of the game. Too many people get caught up in single performances though. As someone who has watched MLS since TFC started, I've learned that success is often a fleeting thing. TFC beat Chicago 3-1 and Dallas 4-0 at home in the first season, and look what happened. MLS teams are always solid at home and pathetic on the road. Seattle also has the worst travel of any MLS team, being all alone in the northwest -- until 2011. Even the greatest MLS teams barely break even on the road.
As you said, Seattle played well, but they one or two injuries away from stinking, as TFC and San Jose have learned. NYRB was giving away the ball very cheaply last night too -- even Angel telegraphed a pass late in the game and a Seattle player received a gift. Dane Richards tried too hard to do everything himself when he had teammates open.
On Seattle, I thought the players who you expected to play well did indeed play well. But their defense was not tested, and the two outside defenders looked weak to me.
Anyhow, enjoy it Seattle but you'll be facing better teams than NYRB, and soon you will be starting 15 road games.
Riley and Scott looked weak? Richards and Kandji's performances were pathetic for a reason.
This analysis is pretty spot-on. As good a first performance as Seattle could have hoped for, thanks in large part to the super-charged crowd and in even larger part to the putrid RBNY side. After watching that game last night I almost cried myself to sleep on Juan Pablo Angel's behalf...a great player with such a weak supporting cast. What the h**l is Rojas, a supposed attacking mid, doing picking up the attack from the defensive third so often??!! Awful!
Good for Seattle, but let's see what they can do against a complete (except for perhaps the attack) team in RSL. And when they're forced to hit the expansion-team-humbling road.
Toronto is south of the 49th, by the way....
Seattle looked good. Great ball control, passing and runs.
Time will tell if that was a one-time show or if their the real-dea
They played euro-style up front; Attacking defenders as they tried to move the ball and more importantly, attacking the net at full-speed on the dribble - creating space.
A lot of MLS teams will have trouble with this.
TFC better work on their counter because they will need 9 men in the box to defend against Seattle.
Well south actually. It's just an expresion.
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