Many will like to look at this match and say the Sounders played better than Chivas and so deserved to win. I'm a results focused guy though, they tend to actually wind up in the standings and the trophies.
Teams either earn results or they don't.
In this case Zach Thorton earned the results. He wasn't brilliant, but he was certainly good. While I said previously that the Sounders would need to challenge him, the tended to kick it right to him. He stretched a few times, but still it was the Chivas keeper that earned those points from yesterday's match.
Guess what? He's currently got the best numbers of any keeper in the league. He is the reason why Chivas with their poor offense is as likely as any club to finish with the Supporters Shield. It may be simplistic, but in this case their keeper is the cause for the results.
Video "highlights" so you can relive the pain.
Today on MatchFitUSA radio I mentioned that the offense has some significant issues, but the biggest one is the one that readers here are quite familiar.
How does Sigi play all of these offensive threats at once, while getting them to each perform at their peak?
I still think that the 4-1-3-2 with Vagenas as the DM is a start. I also think that Zakuani, Alonso and Ljungberg should be the attacking midfielders with Montero and Jaqua up top. How many corners need to go without a goal until Nate is at least on the pitch to draw the double-team? Once upon a time Sounders scored on nearly 5% of their corner kick opportunities, well over twice the league average.
Now, they are down to 3.3%. With an offense like this, that tends to shoot and get blocked, or just pull a Marshall and run out the endline, it is key for the Corner Kicks to convert at a high rate. Jaqua helps that, even if indirectly. But if they are going to continue to be the most fouled team and to earn the second most corners the set-play issue must be addressed. Still.
Sometimes the blog seems like it is skipping.
Today, we are again with the Freddyain and how that effects the offensive mix, and set-plays. In fact I think those two topics have come up in every loss or draw.
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Lastly, someone once said that the Playoffs are a crap-shoot. Step one is to actually make them though. The first round is a two leg aggregate series. Lower seed hosts the first match. If goals are tied at the end of match two there will be OT and then PKs.
Conference Finals are a one off match hosted by the higher of the two seeds. If a team has to cross conferences they can not host the Conference Final.
The MLS Cup Final is here in Seattle.