Sounders vs. Houston - Aftermatch Aftermath: A win is a win is a win

Saturday night brought new but old Western Conference foes Houston Dynamo into Seattle to face the Sounders where Seattle won the game 1-0 thanks to a 360 goal by Obafemi Martins and a stout defense, but no thanks to Gonzalo Pineda who thought kicking a dude in the chest was a good idea.

By Ethan Swenson Apr 6, 2015, 9:00am PDT

Woo! Did you guys see the game? It was another thorough dismantling by the Seattle Sounders, as they made the coaches and players of Houston Dynamo question their life choices that brought them to this point. The players were like, "Whaaa?" and the coaches were like, "No way, brah," while the fans were like "Can't wait for the Astros season to start."

Analysis

Still some missing pieces

nimajneb

The Sounders were close to their old selves, but not quite.

Analysis

Still some missing pieces

Okay, that last one might be a lie, since nobody has ever been excited about the Astros. Matter of fact, all of that might be a lie. I can't start lying to you guys, then you won't believe a word I say anymore. It wasn't a blowout. The Hydra wasn't present. Only two shots on goal were registered, which is two more than the Sounders had last week against Dallas. Progress? Not really, though if the Sounders continue to have two more shots on target than they had the previous game, by the end of the season they'll be at like a billion shots on goal. Math.

There are reasons the offense has been having issues though, and that can be attributed to continuity and opposing teams playing styles whose aim is to specifically disrupt Seattle's attack. Red cards play into this as well, as the dynamic of games shift whenever a red is issued. When Gonzalo Pineda picked up his red card in Saturday's match, Seattle shifted to a 4-3-2 and ultimately a 5-2-2 and a 5-3-1 with the substitutions. Those formations aren't exactly conducive to mythical beasts and many headed attacks.

In time the Sounders will prevail. They've had rough starts to the season before, like every year, and this season is no different. Actually, it is somewhat different, as Seattle has posted a shutout in three of the four games, those three games being the ones in which Brad Evans has looked like a competent central defender.

What I find odd is that Seattle has only won two of their games thus far, and those two games are the ones in which they've either played XI vs. XI or played down a man. The other two games the Sounders have had a man advantage and have not won. You all know this. It's not news. What's news is that I have confirmation that Seattle has decided that for this season they won't win a game with a numerical man-advantage. It's their own form of conscientious objection. They had such an easy time last year in the league, yet it ultimately did not pay dividends in the MLS Cup Playoffs, so this season they're handicapping themselves to toughen up the squad in hopes that this will be the season they finally win the MLS Cup and get one of those fancy stars above their crest.

Seems like an odd decision to make as a team, but they've yet to steer me wrong, so they have my faith. The team will improve, especially with Osvaldo Alonso coming back and gaining game fitness. His tenacity in the midfield and his vision in the transition game sets this Sounders team above and beyond other competition. So as he gains confidence in his body, the Sounders will again be steamrolling opponents without breaking a sweat, except Chad Barrett, who might have a glandular problem.

A Few Notes

For about the fourth game in a row Lamar Neagle has been relatively invisible. Opposing teams have been applying ample amounts of pressure on Seattle players and it seems Lamar has struggled the most in adapting to this tactic.
Apparently on MLS Live the Sounders games have been using the opposition's broadcast team. This is because they prefer satellite feeds versus over-the-air, which is what Seattle uses. So this might be a worrying trend.
Pineda will now miss next Sunday's game in LA against the Galaxy. I'll be interested to see who Sigi plays next to Alonso, whether it's Micheal Azira, Andy Rose, or Christian Roldan.
Head wounds bleed a lot.
I have to believe other teams are figuring out they'll have a hard time beating Seattle in the box by going through the air. The Sheriff and Air Marshall are quite the duo. Buddy cop movie?
Obafemi Martins can do things I can't even do in FIFA.
With only Oba and Clint Dempsey having scored for Seattle, the Hydra is looking more like a two-headed cobra.
There were huge lines to get into Clink that prevented many fans from seeing the start of the game, the worst lines since the whole wanding incident. Any ideas as to why?