Not exactly the prettiest performance from just about any angle, but Wednesday's CONCACAF Champions League group stage win over Herediano was exactly the kind of game the Seattle Sounders couldn't win last year. In fact, this game unfolded very much like the loss at Marathon a year ago, but with dramatically different results.
Just like in this game, the Sounders took an early lead only to see the home side equalize. Just like in this game, the home side was given a somewhat soft penalty in first-half stoppage time. Unlike this time, the Sounders were unable to find any offense in the second half against a less-talented opponent and were forced to go home without a point.
As has been noted repeatedly, there are no bonus points for style. Well, I guess goal-difference is a sort of style point, but I think you get my drift. Three points is three points and the day after no one spends much time fretting over how you got them.
The Sounders are now in position to clinch the top spot in the group with a win on Tuesday against Herediano and a tie in either of their final two matches. It's not quite time to coast, but we can definitely start feeling pretty good about our chances.
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Goals by Period |
1 |
2 |
Tot |
|
CS Herediano |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Seattle Sounders FC |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Scoring Summary: SEA - Fredy Montero (Nate Jaqua, Roger Levesque) 3 HER - Jose Cancela (penalty) 46+ SEA - Fredy Montero (Roger Levesque, Nate Jaqua) 54 |
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CS Herediano - Daniel Cambronero, Marvin Obando, Pablo Salazar, Cristian Montero, Jose Cancela, Jose Luis Cordero, Jose Cubero, Junior Alvarado (Marvin Angulo 78'), Anderson Andrade (Diego Madrigal 64'), Olman Vargas, Victor Nunez (Jorge Barbosa 74'). |
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Misconduct Summary: SEA - Zach Scott (caution; Reckless Challenge) 36 SEA - Alvaro Fernandez (caution; Reckless Tackle) 43 HER - Victor Nunez (caution; Dissent) 53 |
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Referee: Jafeth Perea |
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Referee's Assistants:-Rey Mendoza; Juan Perryman |
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4th Official: Rolando Vidal |
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Attendance: 2,000 |
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Time of Game: 1:51 |
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
POSTGAME QUOTES: Sounders FC at CS Herediano
Sigi Schmid - Sounders FC Head Coach
(On the win...) "Obviously that's something we are very happy about. Last year we were disappointed in our performance in Champions League, maybe even a little bit embarrassed. It was definitely a goal we had set for ourselves that we wanted to get better as we came back into it. So we went 2-0 in our first three games on the road, which makes it even that much greater of an accomplishment. I'm very proud of what we have done."
(On the goals...) "I think it worked out well. Nate [Jaqua's] size certainly helped us there. That was something we were looking to do. We felt we had that advantage on them. The first goal was a great ball played by Nate into Montero. A good run by Fredy and he finished it well. The second goal we tried to take advantage of Nate's size. He pushes it on. I think Roger [Levesque] is the one who got it and scored the goal. In between I don't know if we played necessarily our best soccer but it's been a long haul. The travel was pretty difficult getting here, dividing guys onto three flights. We usually don't point to those things but after the game we can talk about those things, being split onto three flights, flight was delayed yesterday. We got in really late to the hotel, didn't get a chance to practice on this field, and it was very bumpy and so forth. We were able to overcome all those obstacles and deal with it and come out with a win."
(On Fredy Montero...) "Goal scorers, sometimes they are streaky. He is hitting a good streak and we need him to hit a good streak. We have been the kind of team when he wasn't on a streak there was somebody else who would step up and score goals for us. It's good to see Fredy get goals now. He scored an important goal in the Open Cup. He scored an important goal obviously in league and now scored again here in this competition to get an early lead, which is very important in these games away from home."
(On the defense...) "The defense stepped up. As we inserted James Riley it was more-or-less a 5-4-1, so we wanted to do that, get [Amadou] Sanyang in the midfield to give some help to [Servando] Carrasco defensively. Obviously they were floating a lot of balls into the box. We feel pretty confident in our ability in the air, maybe needed to press the ball a little bit more but the defense held strong, came up with some big headers, made some big saves [...] Sometimes when you're away from home like this that's just what you need to do to get the win."
(On CS Herediano...) "Well, what helps us more so than anything is for us to win today because now they have played three games and have zero points. For them right now it's like us last year when we lost our first three games. It's probably not all that likely that they are going to still advance. The team that they bring up to Seattle next week might be a completely different team because their emphasis now is going to fall more to the league and away from this competition, I would assume. So what we are going to take out of it is hopefully the fact that they will come with a different team and maybe a lesser team because today they played the exact same team they played on Saturday. It was all their starters. This was the game that they wanted to win."
Fredy Montero - Sounders FC Forward
(On his brace...) "It's good for me. It's good for the team. To get three points is very important. [...] Looking forward to what we want is to be in the next round of the Champions League."
(On the attacking group...) "We had good performance. I think we were working for the team. We were working hard. [...] We are happy the team got the three points."
(On his recent scoring streak...) "I just want to work every game. If I keep scoring goals that's good for me because that is important for forwards. What's important for me now is that the team gets the three points and look forward to the next game."
(On his confidence...) "I keep working like always. The team always trusts me and believes in Fredy Montero. [...] I think we are a very good team and we are very happy for these three points."
Nate Jaqua - Sounders FC Forward
(On the win...) "This is a tough place. They are a good team. It was hard fought but we were able to pull it out."
(On the attacking group...) "I think we made some good plays. Roger pushes up quite a bit. [...] Sometimes one of us gets caught out there and I think we did a good job rotating and mixing it up and finding each other. That first goal [...] Fredy made a really good run and I was able to slip it in and he had a great finish."
(On the next match...) "We are always confident in ourselves and we know what we are capable of. [...] Always good to get another win, especially with the third game in Champions League and we have nine points. We are sitting in very good position and now going home to play two games. I think one more win and we are in a very good spot."