Seattle Sounders Fall To San Francisco of Panama 1-0 - Quotes and Statistics

by Dave Clark on Jul 27, 2011 8:30 AM PDT in Sounders: CONCACAF Champions League

The Seattle Sounders went down to San Francisco FC of Panama and surprisingly got a result that would be somewhat expected based on the statistics of the matter. A one-nil loss on the road in the CONCACAF Champions League is not an unusual result, even when the road team is "better." Home sides in the CCL score about 2.25 goals and only give up 1.30 goals. That near goal advantage is huge, and the largest in all three tournaments for US soccer teams (MLS, USOC, CCL). When that home side out duels and out passes the traveling one it makes winning even more difficult. The worst of Seattle's passes led directly to the goal, as much as the bad call.

Watching the highlights it is readily notable that two of the three best chances were in the final few minutes and involved the substitutes rather than the starters. Sigi likes the term goal dangerous. In this game Seattle was more goal dangerous when the first substitution took place, and maybe that's a sign of who was on the pitch. Even ignoring the Mike Fucito for Roger Levesque swap/talent difference, the Alvaro Fernandez for Lamar Neagle is a clear one. With all the time off, with Alvaro's experience in international competition and with Seattle being more of a technical, rapid transition via the pass team shouldn't the player with those traits have started? One game in the CCL has more value than any single game during the regular season. Balancing rest should have been in favor of starting Tuesday night and resting against the Houston Dynamo.

Still, the team is not in an awful situation. Seattle's last 1-nil win (which would force overtime) was at Toronto on the 18^th of May. Since then they've had a strong offense, except for one small issue. Almost all of those wins are one goal edgings and in light of the Away Goal tie-breaker would lead to San Fransisco advancing to the Group Stage. Away Goals do not count during overtime. So while Kasey Keller and Pat Noonan are confident, the team is in a bind essentially needing a two goal win at Century Link Field on August 3^rd.

Goals by Period	1	2	Tot
San Francisco FC	1	0	1
Seattle Sounders FC	0	0	0

Scoring Summary:

SFR - Roberto Brown (penalty) 28'

San Francisco FC - 16-Eric Hugues, 3-Rolando Algadona, 5-Manuel Torres, 6-Martin Gomez, 11-Eybir Bonaga, 13-Felipe Olivardia, 19-Johan de Avila (7-Jose Graces 71'), 20-Eduardo Jimenez (22-Edgardo Panezo 44'), 25-Amir Waite, 32-Roberto Chen, 77-Roberto Brown (9-Jefrey Diaz 80').

Substitutes Not Used: 1-Miguel Torres, 8-Fredy Arizala, 40-Jose Pimentel, 48-Pedro Jeanine, 51-Alexis Gondola.

TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Brown 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (4 players 1); FOULS: 15 (Panezo 3); OFFSIDES: 3 (2 players 2); CORNER KICKS: 2 (2 players 1); SAVES: 2 (Eric Hugues 2).

Seattle Sounders FC - 18-Kasey Keller, 7-James Riley, 4-Patrick(2 players 1 Ianni, 31-Jeff Parke, 12-Leo Gonzalez, 10-Mauro Rosales, 6-Osvaldo Alonso, 8-Erik Friberg (25-Pat Noonan 75'), 27-Lamar Neagle (15-Alvaro Fernandez 59'), 17-Fredy Montero, 24-Roger Levesque (2-Mike Fucito 59').

Substitutes Not Used: 29-Josh Ford, 20-Zach Scott, 23-Servando Carrasco, 21-Nate Jaqua.

TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Montero 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (2 players 1); FOULS: 20 (Gonzalez 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3 (Rosales 2); SAVES: 3 (Keller 3).

Misconduct Summary:

SFR - Roberto Brown (caution) 17'

SEA - James Riley (caution) 25'

SEA - Osvaldo Alonso (caution) 70'

SFR - Edgardo Panezo (caution) 73'

SEA - Alvaro Fernandez (caution) 78'

Referee: David Espana

Referee's Assistants: Ronaldo de la Cruz; Cesar Ruano

4th Official: Oscar Reyna

Time of Game: 1:50

San Francisco		Seattle Sounders FC
7	Attempts on Goal	10
4	Shots on Target	2
2	Shots off Target	7
1	Blocked Shots	1
2	Corner Kicks	3
15	Fouls	20
25	Open Play Crosses	21
3	Offsides	0
2	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
38	Duels Won	27
58%	Duels Won %	41%
408	Total Pass	422
82%	Passing Accuracy %	79%
49.4%	Possession	50.6%

Seattle Sounders FC Quotes

Sigi Schmid – Sounders FC Head Coach

(General comments…) "It’s 1-0 at halftime. It’s important for us to come back and win this thing at home and it’s great preparation for the MLS playoffs. We have got to show our ability to come back and score some goals."

(On team offense…) "We had a lot of good chances, [Pat] Noonan’s header off the post. Good effort. Flaco [Alvaro Fernandez] came in the left side and I think he did good. [Mike] Fucito obviously off the throw-in. But also on the other side they had a couple of chances late."

(On conceding penalty kick goal…) "Our back four was completely in disarray so then they throw the ball in there, [Jeff] Parke makes a tackle with his hand, the ball probably slipped underneath him. We had a handball as well in the box that he doesn’t call. It was more of a volley ball type of play but obviously that’s going to happen sometimes."

(On training schedule…) "We have had a lot of days off. When you really look at it after the Colorado game we haven’t had much of what I would call real, real training in the last eight days and I just think it’s tough to maintain the rhythm. But I also think […] we knew this was the one window where we could get a break. Now we have to get a good training session in Houston on Thursday and play better."

Kasey Keller – Sounders FC Goalkeeper

(General comments…) "He [Roberto Brown] finished it well. […] Yeah, it’s frustrating. Like you said, I wasn’t extremely busy. I had a couple saves in the second half when we were obviously pushing to get a goal – that would’ve been bad to go 2-nil down. […] I feel confident for when we get back to Seattle."

(On the days prior to game…) "That [the travel] was probably more of the issue than the days off because we trained before we left on Saturday and training was good. Then we travel and get stuck in the Houston airport for an extra four hours, on the plane, off the plane. It was a bit of a disaster. Those things happen as far as travel."

Pat Noonan – Sounders FC Forward

(General comments…) "Frustrating. We had our chances. We played well defensively and we made a mistake and they made us pay for it. We had our chances. Fortunately for us we are at halftime. We are very confident we are going to go in and get the result back in Seattle. […] We are still very confident."

(On his header that hit the post…) "I didn’t know if I got enough curl onto it. It looked like it was kind of coming back but just didn’t have enough. Flaco [Alvaro Fernandez] was in a good position but I think the ball bounced up to his stomach. It’s just kind of the way it has gone for the past week but luckily it’s only been a week and hopefully we can turn things around up in Houston and then focus on the second half of this series and getting the result."

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Comments

I have a sickening feeling

That we are going to win 2-1 in the second leg. Not a good feeling at all.

by scottykimberly on Jul 27, 2011 8:33 AM PDT reply actions

That's what I'm afraid of.

by chrisperry1983 on Jul 27, 2011 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions

I think one think people ought to keep in mind is that in the first leg of SFFC's qualifier they hung close to Cruz Azul, losing 3-2.

They lost the away leg 0-6.

by Aaron Campeau on Jul 27, 2011 9:28 AM PDT reply actions

2-goal win is a must

the team is in a bind essentially needing a two goal win at Century Link Field on August 3rd

This is exactly right. The Sounders have won 10 games so far in league play this season, but only 2 of those were by more than a single goal. For the second half of this series, we’ll need to have our best offense on the field and eliminate any breakdowns on the backline. This will require them to do much better on both sides of the field than they’re currently accustomed to.

I’m looking forward to being present at the match to see how we do with this challenge. Based on the fact that FSC was advertising tickets for the game, I suspect that this is no where near a sellout. I hope people show up to support our team.

by K61 on Jul 27, 2011 9:36 AM PDT reply actions

Advertising heavy on KJR too

Nearly every traffic update is “brought to you by Seattle Sounders FC…where Seattle takes on the world”

Tickets are currently ~20-40$ with plenty available in all sections. They are about 5$ less without the ticketmaster fee.

This game counts.

I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart

by Dave Clark on Jul 27, 2011 9:42 AM PDT up reply actions

I'm really hoping the Man U game didn't knock us off that run of form we were having

If we allow SF to score one goal at Century Link, we’ll need to score 3 goals, correct? How easy can that be considering we had a hard time breaking down their back four when they weren’t bunkering?

Credit to the SF coach, he played an excellent strategy given the conditions. Also impressed with the fitness of those Panamanian players! Only two games into their season and they were running around like champs out there. It was like playing against eleven Fucitos!

SSFC | What I do for fun: Sometimes-Interesting

by ABTsportsline on Jul 27, 2011 9:43 AM PDT reply actions

As Aaron mentioned...

…SFFC lost at Cruz Azul 0-6 last year. Granted personnel changes, no MLS team has won in Mexico, etc., but I’m optimistic that in a familiar setting with more fans behind them, they’ll figure something out.

Interesting about SFFC’s fitness. I only got to see the highlights, but they did strike me as much more athletic than, say, Metapan was last year.

by ubelmann on Jul 27, 2011 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions

more athletic than metapan, yes

But they also weren’t even trying to defend the midfield. they were great in their defensive third, but that’s about it.

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jul 27, 2011 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Well, I'd say they were bunkinger

fwiw

Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.

by Jeremiah Oshan on Jul 27, 2011 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions

Chalkboards!

San Francisco
Sounders

by Aaron Campeau on Jul 27, 2011 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Guess that SF coach has done his homework!

We struggle breaking down that bunker…

SSFC | What I do for fun: Sometimes-Interesting

by ABTsportsline on Jul 28, 2011 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions

A poor excuse for a trip report

It’s 6:45 AM and I’m sitting in the lounge at the Panama airport so I suppose this is as good a time as any to capture a few of my thoughts and observations.

I went to the match with about a dozen members of ECS (I’m not a member). I made the trip on a whim after discovering it wouldn’t take very many miles to get down here. I posted to an ECS forum that I would be going and asked if I could tag long and take advantage of some of their logistics planning. They were more than happy to oblige and I ended up having a great time with them.

On match day, after spending the morning walking around Casco Viejo (old town) and the afternoon at a bar near our hotel, we arrived at the stadium about an hour before the match. A representative from CONCACAF and Sounders photographer Chris Coulter met us outside the gates. We actually showed up before the riot police and had to wait for them to file in and set up security posts. I had a camera bag and a rain shell with me. The cop in riot gear went through everything in my bag, slowly, and gave me a pat down that would make a TSA agent blush. But we all got in without problem and chose a section behind the Sounders bench. ECS went to work quickly hanging banners and began singing and chanting as soon as the Sounders hit the pitch. And when the team left the field prior to the start of the match, we all joined together and sang Happy Birthday to Montero who seemed touched by the gesture.

As has been noted over and over again, the stadium was quite empty and the grass was disastrous. But I will admit that the SSFC fans acquitted themselves well and seemed to enjoy ECS’ presence and incessant energy. By the 15th minute or so, we had 4 people from the US Embassy and three ex-Pats join our group. There was also a guy from Columbia wearing a Fredy Monetro jersey who came over and chatted with a few of the ECS guys.

Despite the outcome, it was a really enjoyable experience. The ECS members who made the trip were incredibly gracious and classy and I really appreciated their hospitality. I also have a newfound respect for what they do on match days. The amount of energy and effort they expend in supporting the Sounders is really impressive. It was great talking with a few of them who are in leadership positions about why they do it and what their goals are. These guys have big ideas and a pretty clear vision.

All in all, it was a great trip and I owe a big debt of gratitude to ECS. It’s too bad about the outcome but I am confident that the Sounders will take care of business at home on Wednesday.

by ryanhealy on Jul 28, 2011 5:06 AM PDT reply actions 5 recs

SSFC above should be SFFC

Too many S’s and F’s in this matchup.

by ryanhealy on Jul 28, 2011 5:16 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Not sure if you've been told this yet

But the ECS chanting was audible during the entire match. . loud enough that it was easy to recognize and sing along with the songs.

Nos Audietis

by sidereal on Jul 28, 2011 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions

This.

The overall crowd noise was so low you could easily make out almost every ECS chant.

I specifically remember waiting for the “We don’t hear a f@#king thing” line in the one chant, but the SF fans started up on the drum again just as that verse was being sung by ECS. Doh!

SSFC | What I do for fun: Sometimes-Interesting

by ABTsportsline on Jul 28, 2011 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions

I loved it.

Watching it streamed in Perú, being able to sing along to the songs made my night (especially since I started the day off having spent 14 hours in bed after dealing with some food poisoning). Well-done to all who were there.

You do all the work for us, Honey Badger, and we'll just eat whatever you find.

by mistuhp on Jul 28, 2011 4:34 PM PDT up reply actions

Very cool.

Credit where credit is due, though: That was all the ECS guys. I still haven’t figured out a way to sing and chant and pay close attention to the match at the same time. I don’t know how those guys do it.

by ryanhealy on Jul 29, 2011 6:12 AM PDT up reply actions