Sounders vs. Columbus - Aftermatch Aftermath: Crew'd over

Two potent offenses squared off Saturday which saw Seattle Sounders fall 3-2 against Columbus Crew, with good news being that Seattle won't have to visit Ohio for another two years.

By Ethan Swenson May 11, 2015, 9:00am PDT

So the Seattle Sounders lost. That part of Saturday's game against Columbus Crew SC sucked. The fact that Seattle was having an off-night against one of the best teams in MLS and still managed to keep the game close until the end was not as suck. As much as I'm loathe to admit, for nearly all of the match the Crew outplayed the Sounders. But from a neutral perspective, or as someone who just enjoys watching great attacking football, Saturday's game was a treat.

I still would've preferred a win. We all would've. But it's unrealistic to expect the Sounders to run the table. Saturday's game, against what looks to be the second best team I've seen play this season, gives me hope that the Sounders will have a wildly successful season, that their only enemy will be themselves. But that's not what we wanted during this "rivalry" week. A dominating performance where the Sounders net yet another hat trick against the Crew was what people wanted, especially after some Columbus fans did what they could to make a rivalry out of haystack needles.

Think about this though, while we were drinking ourselves into a stupor to forget this loss, and while Columbus Crew fans were celebrating what might be the biggest win in their franchise's history, they had to go back to their residences in Columbus, Ohio. So no matter what, we've always got that on them.

Last year I got some backlash when I compared Columbus to the Sarlacc Pit, saying one thousand years of pain, suffering, and ultimately death is exactly what you'll find in both places. Some of their fans told me to eat shit and die, which I'm happy to say, I followed neither of those pieces of advice. So yeah, sure, I'll allow the Crew that victory because what else do they have? I was on a boat this weekend in the Puget Sound. What did people from Ohio do? Watch reruns of Ohio State University games?

It's kind of a shame that this game wasn't celebrated as two high quality teams playing an entertaining game. We'll lose another game this season, sad to say, and I'll be wringing my hands and hemming and hawing the entire time. But then we'll blow other teams out. We'll win games we deserve to lose. It's a long season and the Sounders are looking pretty. Another match without injuries or suspensions is much appreciated, and now we can head into a real rivalry match against Vancouver Whitecaps without an international break handicapping Seattle for the first time since 2013. Maybe, just maybe, we'll see Clint Dempsey make his debut in a starting lineup against the Whitecaps. That'd be swell.

Notes

Both teams had many chances, with 19 shots on goal between the two teams. Expect goals show both teams got a bit lucky (probably Dempsey's first goal and the Federico Higuain goal that made its way through a forest of Sounders). Though it's important to note Seattle's two biggest chances were most likely Dempsey's second goal (where he was probably offside), and the miss from Obafemi Martins that created Dempsey's second goal.

xG map for Columbus-Seattle. Big win for the Crew in an early matchup of two of MLS' best sides. Looks fun! pic.twitter.com/vSmICLE5wG
— Michael Caley (@MC_of_A) May 10, 2015

This is the third game in a row where an opposing player has repeatedly fouled the Sounders and been warned that any more fouls would result in a card. For those of you with short memories, that would be Diego Chara, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, and now Tony Tchani. It sounds weird to me that only Silvia Petrescu followed through with the yellow despite both Chara and Tchani committing subsequent fouls.
Clint Dempsey was probably offside when he scored his second goal, but the Crew deserve to have that happen to them for making the Sounders travel to Columbus.
The Sounders of Saturday are what this team would look like all the time if both Chad Marshall and Osvaldo Alonso were mere mortals.
I'm not afraid to admit that I like the Crew. I like their coach, I like their players, I like their style. If MLS had more teams like Columbus, that'd be good for the league.
I find it funny that MLS folded Chivas USA, calling it a failure, and replaced it New York City FC, a team which is definitely, absolutely not a failure, no sirree.
When you were younger did you ever try to chew an entire roll of bubbletape? That would get intense real fast.
If I had to make a three man shortlist for Sounder of the Season thus far, it'd be Dempsey, Oba, and Stefan Frei.
Even though Dylan Remick is doing serviceable during his run at left back, I miss Leo Gonzalez and his lumbering, awkward runs forward.