The Seattle Sounders just needed a point to become just the second MLS team in the four-year history of CONCACAF Champions League to win a group. Once Fredy Montero equalized in the 42nd minute, they seemed well on their way.
But two all-too-familiar problems cropped up once again: Allowing attackers to get behind the defense and poor passing in the defensive third. Unfortunately, the highlight package does not do a very good job of showing what exactly happened.
What we can see is that the Sounders stood toe-to-toe with a Mexican team and actually came out looking like the better team, even if it was the less polished one. In an almost complete role reversal of the first time these teams met this year, the Sounders largely had the run of play and created more chances. But the visitor did a better job of capitalizing on the few chances they did get.
The Sounders had at least two very good chances to find a late equalizer. First on a rather amazing control-and-pivot play from Montero that went just wide and then on a point-blank Patrick Ianni header than the backup goalkeeper managed to just save.
To be sure, it was a night of missed opportunities for the Sounders. The one good thing is that at least they can face these kinds of teams and know they can outplay them.
|
Goals by Period |
1 |
2 |
Tot |
|
CF Monterrey |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Seattle Sounders |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Scoring Summary: |
|
MTR -- Dario Carreno (Humberto Suazo) 3 |
|
SEA -- Fredy Montero (unassisted) 42 |
|
MTR -- Cesar Delgado (unassisted) 61 |
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CF Monterrey-- Jonathan Orozco (Juan de Dios Ibarra 73), Severo Meza, Ricardo Osorio, Miguel Morales, Jose Basanta, Luis Perez, Cesar Delgado (Neri Cardozo 80), Sergio Perez, Dario Carreno, Sergio Santana, Humberto Suazo. |
|
Misconduct Summary: |
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MTR -- Luis Perez (caution; Reckless Foul) 41 |
|
SEA -- Zach Scott (caution; Reckless Foul) 58 |
|
MTR -- Severo Meza (caution; Delaying a Restart) 75 |
|
MTR -- Humberto Suazo (caution; Delaying a Restart) 82 |
|
MTR -- Miguel Morales (caution; Delaying a Restart) 94+ |
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Referee: Enrico Winjgaarde |
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Referee's Assistants:-Ramon Louisville; Egberth Paesch |
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4th Official: Rudolph Angela |
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Attendance: 15,866 |
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Time of Game: 1:51 |
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Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-58-degrees |
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
POSTGAME QUOTES: Sounders FC vs. Monterrey - October 18, 2011
Sigi Schmid - Sounders FC Head Coach
(General comments...) "I thought for the most part the game was a pretty even game. We had some chances to score and didn't take advantage of them and I thought we gave up two soft goals. I think they're a good team. I think they move the ball around. I think they were content even early in the second half to play the game to a draw. The first goal was a bad play for our backs in terms of playing offside that early in the game, which is something we tell them not to do. The second goal was a giveaway. We had the assist. You can't give up soft goal because you aren't always going to be able to resurrect yourself and score goals and win."
(On Bryan Meredith...) "I thought Meredith played well for a guy in his first game, and this was a fairly big game. I thought he was composed. I didn't think he could do much on either goal. Maybe on the second goal he could have stood a little bit longer. That will come with experience. His feet were good. His composure was good. He came out and collected crosses. He was fine. [Kasey] Keller had an emotional game Saturday and felt not best to come with him today."
(On seeding in the quarterfinal round...) "It matters in terms of the pairings because most of the group winners are going to be Mexican teams, so now the chances are that you're going to match up with a Mexican team. That makes the task a little bit harder. Toronto still has a chance to win their group. LA has a chance to win their group. Maybe then, who knows how the draw turns out. It was something we wanted to do but also wanted to be smart and not put ourselves in jeopardy for the next round and also for the MLS Cup with players who had knocks or injuries like Leo Gonzalez or [Brad] Evans. That's one of reasons we took Jeff Parke off the field. He had a yellow going in. We lost Zach Scott because of his yellow. We didn't want another centerback to pick up his second yellow."
(On Fredy Montero receiving captain's armband...) "Fredy has done well. Kasey is our captain and he wasn't in there. Evans is a guy we give the armband to when Kasey isn't in there. We thought Fredy deserved it. He has been playing well and leading the team with his effort and his performance. We thought it was the appropriate thing to do. "
(On Montero's offensive improvements...) "It was a good goal. He works on his free kicks. That's something we have really concentrated on this year. He's scored a few free kicks and that's added to his total this year. He's grown, he's matured. He understands the physicality of the game now and he has sped up his play. He's a player that continues to grow and mature. He has great vision and great skills. Sometimes he tries so hard to try to do something, people say if he could play it a little simpler, but that's part of his game. He's a player who can pull some things off like that and he needs the opportunities to do that."
(On Sammy Ochoa's play...) "Ochoa did well. Ochoa gives us some of the things that O'Brian White gave us earlier in the year. He's a bigger body. He's good at getting up for headers up front. I know he wishes he had that cross back that Tyson swung in. Sammy has done well for us."
(On moving forward...) "They know now that we can concentrate on one thing. I'm not happy with the goals we gave up and they heard that as well."
Brian Meredith - Sounders FC Goalkeeper
(On his first start...) "Three minutes into the game, seeing that first shot, giving up a goal, definitely not the way I want to start the game, or my MLS career. After that I settled down a little bit, got the nerves out of me I felt pretty confident the whole rest of the game. The second goal was tough--they kind of intercepted a bad pass, not really much we could do--and we couldn't put away our chances. We had enough of them. We just couldn't put them away."
(On when he learned he would start...) "Yesterday after practice, so not much time."
(On if he suspected he would start...) "Yeah, but you never know. I was hoping I would but I didn't want to count my chickens before they hatched. I'm thankful for the start and I think I played alright, but there's definitely a lot to improve on."
(On if he had to get himself back into the game after the goal...) "Not really. Giving up the goal...you're going to give up goals as a goalie. To get one out of the way that early, it was tough obviously, but it kind of shook the nerves right out of me. After that I felt fine."
Jeff Parke - Sounders FC Defender
(On the game...) "We definitely gave them the game tonight. There were some mistakes that we shouldn't make. We have to move on now and forget about this game because it's more important now that we're going into the playoffs on a high and try to limit our mistakes."
(On it being his first game back in a while...) "It's like any other game. You just have to get back into it and get the rust off a little bit and get in the flow of the game. It wasn't a good game for me tonight, but hopefully the next game we can move on and do better as a group."
(On if it's a relief that the team can focus on the MLS Cup...) "I hadn't really thought about it as much, but now that you're saying it, it definitely is. We can concentrate on just the games left and this weekend in LA, and the playoffs coming up. We'll see who we play and gear up for them, and that's the most important thing. That's all we have left, so hopefully we can get a better chance earlier than later to see who we play, and we can start with them."
(On the difference between having Kasey Keller in goal and a rookie...) "It's big, but you're talking about one of the best goalies that's ever played in the US and to represent the US, so it's tough to compare. It's his first game out there with us and I thought he did a good job. I can't really compare them because it wouldn't be fair to him. It was his fist game and there's things you learn from it and you move on from it and you look at it and see what you could have done better and what you could have done to help the team."
Sammy Ochoa - Sounders FC Forward
(On the blow to his head...) "I think it was an elbow, it doesn't hurt...Everybody says it was an elbow. I didn't see it. I thought it was his head, but I guess it was an elbow."
(On how he felt in his first start...) "I felt good. I was happy to get the start, but we didn't get the win, but we felt like we did better than the other team. We just weren't lucky in our finishing."
(On if he feels they're on par with Mexican teams...) "Yeah. I played in Mexico five years and all those Mexican teams feel that MLS teams are not as good...but the MLS is getting a lot bigger and a lot better."
Victor Vucetich - CF Monterrey Head Coach
(General comments...) "We knew it was a very important match for both teams. A tie would have given the opposition the first spot. That interested us because we can play the second leg at home. The match was very even, very well fought, particularly in the midfield. Monterrey recovered that resolve to get the result in this important game."
(On Jonathan Orozco injury...) "It's too early to talk about the injury. It's hard to draw a conclusion. Hopefully there will be time enough for him to be fit."
(On playing Seattle again...) "This is the fourth match that we've played against the Sounders. The team caused a great impression. We know it's a great team that plays well together. The game was even and well disputed from the beginning to the end, like the previous matches. A great game for the teams."
(On next round...) "Every win motivates a lot, particularly because we are facing The Classic. The resolve and determination tonight will be positive for the next few games."
(On player substitutions from last game against Seattle...) "There were three or four changes from the last game. Neri Cardozo, Walter, Sergio Perez, Miguel Morales, Luis Perez. Five changes from the last game."
(On Suazo and Santana playing together...) "The team has been playing together for some time. We know each other well and that gives us options. We try to always keep four players playing ahead at any sector of the pitch. The midfielders and defenders faced off a number of times. We knew that we could not retract and expect that based on individual talent, someone could make a difference."
(On Sounders player that called attention...) "A number of them, not just from this match, but from the historic and the statistics. For example, Montero is always very dangerous. Alonso can be very dynamic. Riley marked very well and has tremendous speed and can support the attack as well. Maybe I'm missing a few other names, but definitely a strong roster that plays well as a team and has strong individual talent as well."
(On The Classic...) "All of us who take part in Mexican futbal understand the importance of The Classic. The derby is not only about the three points. It's also about the pride. For that we have to go with maximum concentration and maximum preparation. What this represents to the city is very important. The two Monterrey teams call a lot of attention and focus of the city and they make The Classic very interesting and very important."