Seattle Sounders 2 : 1 Sporting KC - Another Streak Ends
by Dave Clark on Aug 6, 2011 7:56 PM PDT
in Sounders: MLS Regular Season
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PrintSporting Kansas City entered the day on a high note and strong favorites. They'd never lost in MLS at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. They had not lost in MLS play in their past 14 matches. As happened to the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake, those streaks ended when Mauro Rosales and Lamar Neagle continued the theme of grabbing points late with clutch goals.
For 59 minutes this looked like the match that was expected. The Seattle Sounders were tired. They struggled with physical defense. They weren't creating chances and Sporting was dominating play if not possession. Kei Kamara scored off a Rory Delap throw-in deep. Sorry, that wasn't Delap, that was Matt Besler in Delap's role. The SporKCs practice that play, and they deserved the reward even if the marking by Zach Scott was a little light.
Omar Bravo changed everything when he went in with two feet and studs up on Pat Noonan. His behaviour after the play will be what gets the most attention, but his Red Card changed the dynamic of the game. That with Sigi's early subs meant that the Sounders could play their up-tempo style. Somehow ending the match with more shots on goal than KC.
There was a 10-day period where Sounders fans were down. They'd witnessed losses in a friendly and two competitions. Those emotions get corrected when the team ends MLS streaks and advances to the CCL Group Stage don't they. It took odd circumstances with injuries to Jeferson and his replacement Luke Sassano, but the scoreboard and the standings are in the Rave Green's favor at the end of the day.
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Nice
another 2 late goal and one in stoppage time against KC. As well as another streak broken by Seattle.
It's going to get even harder not to be down when the Sounders actually lose.
This come-from-behind victory shit is like crack.
by Greg Pirkl Lives on Aug 6, 2011 8:01 PM PDT reply actions 5 recs
What are you talking about, the streak continues
That was our 5th straight win over KC (6th if you count Open Cup wins). Who cares about their streak!? We’ve got one of our own that’s still alive here.
And the reason behind it is...
See, KC was the first team to win at Qwest. They were also the first team to earn a red card against us. Furthermore, the red card was against Kasey Keller. And beyond that, they were the first team to ever shut out Seattle.
My theory is that because of the above, someone, somewhere put a curse on KC and that curse appears to still be in effect as of today. Who knows how long it will last, but sad days await KC for as long as it does.
This is, of course, just a theory.
by K61 on Aug 6, 2011 8:11 PM PDT up reply actions 9 recs
I didn't look it up
but I ’m pretty sure Keller has played every minute in MLS since that game.
by bauckus on Aug 6, 2011 8:48 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Nope.
He was out after a potential concussion (which turned out not to be, I guess) @ Dallas last year IIRC.
Actually, of course...
…Kasey also didn’t play the following game (at Chivas) due to the red card.
Anyway, that first KC game will also be the source of a trivia question years from now — "Who was the first Sounders keeper to concede an MLS goal?’ (The answer: Ben Dragavon, who never played another minute for the team.)
So on Twitter I hear that Noonan is classless, Bravo's red card was BS, and the refs handed the game to Seattle.
Nothing that hasn’t been noted before, but it’s amazing how different the view is from the opposing sideline.
And Sporting did play the better game, but as Sounders fans well know, it doesn’t matter how well you play if you don’t score the goals. …It’s also weird being on the good side of that quote. Heh.
by Greg Pirkl Lives on Aug 6, 2011 8:16 PM PDT up reply actions
If a viewpoint exists, you can find it on Twitter
Whether it is justified or not.
Yep
KC were unquestionably the better team on the night overall. Even a man down, they ran circles around us for a few stretches playing glorified keep-away. But man it feels nice to win one of those games instead of losing or tying games like that (Houston @ home comes to mind here).
I agree
We stole that game! I feels pretty good though
by Kevin Higginbottom on Aug 6, 2011 9:23 PM PDT up reply actions
What did Noonan do, anyway?
SSFC | What I do for fun: Sometimes-Interesting
by ABTsportsline on Aug 7, 2011 12:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Never leave the game early....
not to catch a ride,
not to hit the bar,
not because the girl’s bored.
Unbelievable.
by wmknickers on Aug 6, 2011 8:12 PM PDT reply actions 5 recs
Not because you're in a box...
…Not because you have a fox,
Do not leave for here or there,
Do not leave for anywhere!
Not even for a traffic jam —
Don’t dare leave early, Sam I Am!
by regnaD kciN on Aug 6, 2011 10:28 PM PDT up reply actions 4 recs
God we played like s#@t for 89 minutes.
I feel dirty having won this.
In a good way.
by DaveValleDrinkNight on Aug 6, 2011 8:13 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I wouldn't say 89 minutes
After the Bravo card, we had plenty of possession and were getting forward.
I have no issues making The Sporks our bitch.
We’ll fuck with them for 90 minutes feigning equality or worse, then we’ll stab ’em in the heart and dance the dance of joy.
by Jackington on Aug 6, 2011 8:17 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I thought the god of averages
hated our guts with the flying foot save by Nielsen on Neagle. We need to get Rosales sainthood.
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 8:25 PM PDT reply actions
This win just might qualify as a miracle
How many do you need for sainthood? Someone call the Pope!
Wow...this is amazing
So, I’m sitting here watching the halftime recap of the Dallas-LA match and they’re going over the scores from around the league. They still had the scoreline from our game as 1-0 for SKC. Hilarious.
It gets even BETTER!!
We signed Kei Kamara (apparently).
by wyte_lightning on Aug 6, 2011 8:46 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Dewey beats Truman!
Saw that as well. The announcers just corrected themselves during the 2nd half.
3 min of extra time
At the start of extra time, I couldn’t believe the ref only gave 3 min of added time since it basically took that long just to get Bravo off the field. Then I was thanking him for it by the end.
Interesting Note (to me): Only Western Conference teams won this weekend.
All Eastern Conference teams merely tied or lost.
Eastern teams in action this week:
9
Points earned: 2
(w/ Chi v Van tomorrow)
by bauckus on Aug 6, 2011 9:03 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Dangit, hit reply by accident
This is the first game in quite a while where I was jumping up and down yelling and flipping out at the goals. I was ecstatic to tie it up with Rosales’ goal. I was having a flip-out seizure of joy with Neagle’s winner.
by chrisperry1983 on Aug 6, 2011 8:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Neagle ended the RSL home streak and now the KC streak
hell yeah for lamar neagle
...
both of his goals came as crucial game winners. the kid is a warrior
I believe the technical term is clutch
And yes he is.
If Neilson doesn't get SOTW for his kick-save, it'll be an absolute injustice.
by wyte_lightning on Aug 6, 2011 8:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Amen.
After that save I was expecting a loss.
by DaveValleDrinkNight on Aug 6, 2011 9:21 PM PDT up reply actions
After staying on the couch for all of the game, I had to go to the bathroom in the 89th minute.
Came back out and we were up 2-1 instead of down 0-1. It was weird…but in a cool way.
that is weird
I was sitting on the couch and feeling a little desperate, so I decided t sit on the floor to change things up. And we scored. So I decided to stay. And we scored again! Then I started jumping around until I realized I wasn’t on the floor anymore, and I sat down there again.
So the issue was the couch.
by PeterJH on Aug 6, 2011 10:09 PM PDT up reply actions 5 recs
All I'm saying is
If you had joined us and got your butt off the couch, we probably would have scored a third. Hope you can sleep with that on your conscience!
by PeterJH on Aug 7, 2011 2:10 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
The Jimmy doesn't like
this birthday present. Arlo’s voice cracking on the winning goal = priceless.
"Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity"
Barf, 3-1
This said, I do look forward to our next match with the Gaul-axy. Take em all.
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 9:18 PM PDT up reply actions
On a slightly related note
if LA is our bugaboo team, are we KC’s? You have to think they are pretty nervous when we come up on the schedule. Especially now.
FYI, we have one weeks' rest and 6 games with 3 or less days the rest of Aug
We HAVE to fully fill out the roster if nothing else, to survive our schedule. MLS is punishing us for being soooo good.
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 9:03 PM PDT reply actions
If you think that
every soccer league punishes every team for being good
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
MLS was making noise about giving CCL teams extra allocation $$ this past off-season
Did anything ever come out of that?
As far as I know, yes that's the case
and we had to win the prelim match to get it, because it only went to teams that were in the groups
Nos Audietis
Maybe that's why we haven't signed a big player yet
The FO might have been waiting on the allocation dollars to make it work.
I guess that depends on how much $$ it is
If we’re talking about $100K, lets say and the FO already knew they’d be right up against the cap, I’d have to believe we don’t sign Noonan if there’s even a possibility it messes with a big signing during the window (or signed Sanyang for that matter). Interesting theory, but I’m not sure I buy it.
Quite the opposite
MLS specifically front-loaded our schedule so that we would have no mid-week games left on the calendar. Just like they back-loaded RSL’s schedule for their CCL games. They are doing what they can, but league play must go on.
Toddler got my keyboard (seriously)
We are in three competitions with the same salary cap as Chicago, Portland, etc. Is that fair?
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 9:07 PM PDT reply actions
So is LA, Dallas, Colorado, and Toronto (hahahahahaha)
It’s not how much salary cap you have, it’s how you use it. Well, until you play Monterrey with 10 times your cap, anyway.
Yes indeed
Suazo’s estimated transfer fee is by itself 4 times our team’s salary cap. Hopefully we will get a DP here to add to our arsenal, but our bench will be stretched to the extreme starting next week. It’s not like anyone can say they did not see it coming though. Same sh&%, different year.
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 9:16 PM PDT up reply actions
Transfer fees are always larger than wages
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
True, but wages aren't cheap either
Rumor is that Tagoe wanted $200K per week. While I hope we get a killer DP, we have to get someone, if only a decent player (not Noonan), period to just fill out the roster to survive this stretch. There would be no excuse to not do so. Really— we can’t find at least one more legitimately playable body right now if nothing else? [I am still on our post crushing-the-dreams-of another victory, so my thoughts on this are actually toned down]
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 9:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Tagoe didn't want 200k$ per week
because if that was true Hoffenheim wouldn’t have gotten the transfer offers they did.
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
The rumor is a fat sack of crap
by Aaron Campeau on Aug 6, 2011 10:06 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'm just sayin
I don’t know if that rumor is true or not. But I (and you) do know that the Sounders are in the unenviable position of facing one Suazo again in two games. I would feel a lot better if we had a Suazo.
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 10:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Well sure.
But the point remains, no one is paying Prince Tagoe more than Xavi.
by Aaron Campeau on Aug 6, 2011 10:18 PM PDT up reply actions
That's how much Samuel Eto'o makes playing for Inter
$200,000 per week is more than 95% (maybe even 99%) of soccer players in Europe make. I would not give a lot of credibility to that rumor.
It's a good problem to have
Even given our salary restrictions and busy schedule, I think it’s good for the team overall. We get more competitive games for our players to prove and improve themselves.
Besides, if we want to talk about fair, is it fair to have Panama’s league and MLS in the same tournament when the US GDP is over 500 times that of Panama’s? Our schedule is nothing compared to mountain some of the smaller nations in the CCL have to climb.
by ubelmann on Aug 6, 2011 9:56 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Lovin all the Tweats from the Sounders
Riley, Rosales, Neagle. They are loving this as much as we are.
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 9:22 PM PDT reply actions
The lineup we finished with...
Needs to be our starting lineup. With the exception of Montero in for Noonan. And we can alternate between Neagle, Fernandez and Friberg. Fucito should be starting in place of Levesque.
Bottom line is that when we attack, we’re a phenomenal team. When we hold the ball up, we struggle. Continue to put an attacking lineup out there, Sigi.
I prefer
Fucito coming in as a second half sub to inject some energy into the match and energize the attack. I think his game plays better against players that have begun to fatigue. Unfortunately, we don’t have anyone healthy that is a very good option until White is match fit.
For the twillerate
mdr7 Mau Rosales
Full 94 minutes!..3 points for our team effort go sounders!Thanks everybody again for all your support! Enjoy it! you make me very happy!
LamarNeagle
Hard work pays off! Taking 3points and heading back to Seattle, my hometown! Fans support us till the end so we fight till the end!
JamesRiley7 James Riley
Wow! We will take it. A very opportunistic 3pts. Back to the hotel. I am hoping to be back in time to see the Blue Angels fly tomorrow.
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 9:26 PM PDT reply actions
More
@stevezakuani11 Steve Zakuani
I haven’t tried sprinting since my injury.. but after that winning goal, I couldn’t help but sprint across the room w/ the other fans!!!
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 6, 2011 10:31 PM PDT up reply actions
ZombieJaqua
If an Omar Bravo falls in the woods, does anybody fall for it?
by baltergeist on Aug 7, 2011 12:48 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
If I'm a Central American ref
I’d card the tree.
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 7, 2011 10:50 AM PDT up reply actions
Anyone know
Why LA doesn’t have a scheduled MLS game until the 20th? Maybe they’ll think about taking the CCL serious this year with that extra time off.
Some internet searching tells me that
FarmAid is being hosted by LiveStrong Park next weekend, when the Galaxy were originally slated to travel to Kansas City. The match was recently moved to September 5th. (Most teams have that weekend off since it is an international fixture weekend and the league intended to take a break.)
Dallas, LA, Colorado, and Seattle all had their schedules somewhat front-loaded so they wouldn’t have mid-week league games in August, September, and October.
why would you be mad?
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.
by Jeremiah Oshan on Aug 7, 2011 12:57 AM PDT up reply actions
Because I just know something bad is going to happen if we keep playing him this much
He was obviously on lead limbs for both halves of this game, and went to the turf far more easily and more often than I’d like. With his history of injuries, that sort of workload worries me. We need to be careful with our golden goose. If he goes down, does this team stand a chance in the playoffs?
If you pull Rosales out early to rest him, we don't score either of those goals.
SSFC | What I do for fun: Sometimes-Interesting
by ABTsportsline on Aug 7, 2011 2:32 AM PDT up reply actions
Right, and I noted that in the original post
But lets say hypothetically that he gets hurt in the next game because of the number of minutes he played in these, and misses the playoffs. Would it be worth the 3 points? Or would you rather have him in the playoffs?
Besides, while he did contribute to both goals, Soccer is too fluid of a game to assume no goals would have been scored without him.
Fatigue is one thing
Injuries are another. If I am Sigi I am playing my best players as much as possible. Rosales being on the field has way more connection to the goals being scored than his extra minutes do to potentially getting injured.
well, if he does get hurt
We’ll never know, for sure, why, and I really doubt he’ll suffer a major injury with fatigue as the main culprit. Dude knows his body. I’m willing to trust he knows how far he can push it.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.
by Jeremiah Oshan on Aug 7, 2011 7:24 AM PDT up reply actions
I agree
of just about all the Sounders players, I’d trust Rosales the most in terms of knowing his body and what his limits are.
Not Brad Evans? ;-)
SSFC | What I do for fun: Sometimes-Interesting
by ABTsportsline on Aug 7, 2011 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions
SJ v PDX match.
Announcers… “Morales, and Neagle” ….
:(
Sports. Right?
It's pretty amazing
how often he gets mistaken for Morales. It’s probably because his first name is Mauro and his last name ends with -ales.
We didn't end a 14 game unbeaten streak
SKC had a 14-game ’Hadn’t played Seattle" streak
by Aasenb on Aug 7, 2011 5:24 AM PDT reply actions 7 recs
Yep
this big, fat stolen W still feels freaking good this morning.
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