Match Data
SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 2 - Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Venue: BC Place
Referee: Robert Sibiga
Assistants: Eric Weisbrod, Jeremy Kieso
Fourth Official: Drew Fischer
VAR: Geoff Gamble
Attendance: 27,863
Weather: 56 degrees and rain showers
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA - Raúl Ruidíaz (Kelvin Leerdam, Cristian Roldan) 21’
SEA - Raúl Ruidíaz 42’
VAN - Kei Kamara (Nicolás Mezquida) 45’+4’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA - Osvaldo Alonso (caution) 41’
VAN - Russell Teibert (caution) 48’
SEA - Kelvin Leerdam (caution) 59’
VAN - Kei Kamara (caution) 90’+6’
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam (Will Bruin 78’), Kim Kee-hee, Chad Marshall, Brad Smith; Gustav Svensson, Osvaldo Alonso - captain, Cristian Roldan, Nicolás Lodeiro, Harry Shipp (Víctor Rodríguez 69’); Raúl Ruidíaz (Jordy Delem 90’+1’)
Substitutes not used: Bryan Meredith, Nouhou, Alex Roldan, Lamar Neagle
Total shots: 7 (Ruidíaz, 4)
Shots on goal: 5 (Ruidíaz, 4)
Fouls: 5 (Alonso, 2)
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 8 (Lodeiro, 7)
Saves: 4 (Frei, 4)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Stefan Marinovic; Jakob Nerwinski, Kendall Waston, Doneil Henry, Brett Levis (Brek Shea 53’); Alphonso Davies, Aly Ghazal (Jordon Mutch 70’), Russell Teibert, Cristian Techera; Nicolás Mezquida (Erik Hurtado 82’), Kei Kamara
Substitutes not used: Brian Rowe, Sean Franklin, Felipe, Efrain Juarez
Total shots: 21 (Kamara/Mezquida, 7)
Shots on goal: 5 (Techera/Mezquida, 2)
Fouls: 12 (Kamara, 3)
Offside: 1 (Techera, 1)
Corner-kicks: 10 (Techera, 6)
Saves: 3 (Marinovic, 3)
Post-Match Quotes
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC
HEAD COACH BRIAN SCHMETZER
On an emotional match versus Whitecaps FC:
“It is Kick Childhood Cancer Month and there are lots of other people that struggles with stuff that keeps us grounded, people that have issues in their lives that are way more challenging than what we face out there. So, what I thought of the match is that it was a playoff atmosphere match. There were two teams desperate for a win. I think Vancouver had some chances; we were living dangerously at the end when they could have tied it up. That is a good team. I thought we were deserved winners. At the end of the day, they came on and took it to us in certain parts of the match, so, all in all, it was an exciting Cascadia clash.”
On Vancouver’s goal:
“[We have to] try not to give away too many corner kicks. It is as simple as that. We just need to be a little bit more careful, I would say, making sure our clearances are up the field instead of out of bounds. They are obviously a very dangerous team with Kamara, Waston, Ghazal and all the guys that they have. It was a quality goal, credit to him.”
On dealing with Kamara in the second half:
“We needed to actually do a better job. Look, if he is going to win some balls, we need to clean up a little bit the space right in front of him. Pitch our wide guys in, making sure Ozzie and Gustav were not pulled too high up the field. I think that was the source of some of their attacks, so, on that, we made a couple of adjustments at halftime and tried to figure that out.”
FORWARD RAUL RUIDIAZ [VIA INTERPRETER]
On his goals:
“It’s beautiful I’ve been waiting for this a long time, but the most important is the three points for the team.”
On the second goal:
“In reality that was Nico’s [Lodeiro’s] pressure, the pressure he was putting on him. It was key for the game.”
On nine straight wins:
“The truth is I’m really surprised by all this. The effort is more than just a group, we’re a family and that is why everything is coming out excellent.”
On his physical condition:
“I feel very good physically and I think I’m getting better since I got to MLS.”
MIDFIELDER OSVALDO ALONSO:
On the win:
”We came up here to get the points. We didn’t play our best game, but like I say, tomorrow in the papers it’s going to be like, we win the game and that’s the only thing that matters for us right now. We’ve got to make the playoffs and we come here and we got the three points.”
On halftime changes:
“They are very dangerous players. They have fast play in the front, they press us, they counterattack. We play good defence and we win the game, that’s all that matters for us.”
On the winning streak:
“We have to keep working and keep playing like that. Now we go home and on Wednesday night play like a final and keep going.”
On Whitecaps corners:
“They are really tall guys, dangerous players but, like I said, we came here to get three points. It wasn’t our best game but we did it, we got the three points.”
—
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
HEAD COACH CARL ROBINSON
On the match:
“I think sometimes in football you don’t get what you deserve, I thought that’s what I saw today, I thought we were the better team. I’m not avoiding the fact Seattle have got fantastic players and they punished us with two mistakes of ours early on. Yes, we got ourselves in a hole but we should have been ahead prior to that, we should have got back into the game but the boys kept going, the character was unbelievable and I don’t think we got anything out of the game. We should have won that game today and we lost it and we have to accept it and we will. It’s not great, it’s not ideal, it’s disappointing against a rival but I can’t ask them to do anything more other than put the ball in the back of the net and maybe not play square balls across the edge of the box.”
On mistakes in the match:
“The games are won in both boxes, that’s why the boys at the top are paid the big bucks, you hear that all the time. We got into some wonderful areas and our final pass was over-hit or under-hit or we made the wrong decision and that’s what happens. It doesn’t matter how much possession you have in the world, it’s what you do in both boxes. The first 20 minutes we didn’t do our details correctly, we lost our runner on the first goal which was a pullback and then the second goal we played a square goal to a top, top forward and he scored. We dug ourselves a hole last time we played Seattle and we’ve done it again and this time we weren’t able to get out.”
On Levis’ error:
“He doesn’t need [to explain it]. I just said to him there, as young players you’ll make mistakes and when you make mistakes it’s important you don’t go under. He had a little wobble but he didn’t go under which is really important. I’ll speak to him on Tuesday, maybe he didn’t see the player but when you’re a centre forward like Raul [Ruidiaz] who sniffs out every little square pass and every little opportunity to score, unfortunately Brett was the one who made the pass. He’ll make more of them as he goes along in his career.”
CENTRE BACK KENDALL WASTON
On how he’s feeling:
“Upset, because we wanted to win, needed to win. But football is like this, and now we just have six more games that hopefully we can try to do everything possible to get in the playoffs.”
On what it will take in the final six games:
“The only thing that matters is that we can run, we can play good or whatever, but at the end what matters is that we need to win, and at the end to get in the playoffs. That is the most important thing here.”
On how hard it will be to get in the playoffs:
“It’s always going to be hard, it’s never going to be easy.”
On what head coach Carl Robinson said about the performance:
“He told us he felt proud. We fight until the end, we never give up. We want to get in the playoffs because of the coaches. They have given us all the tools during the week to have all the information possible to play against Seattle or any other teams. Since we are with them they have given us great things, so hopefully we can get in the playoffs for them.”
MIDFIELDER RUSSELL TEIBERT
On how he’s feeling:
“I did an interview right after the game, and I said that I felt that I had to be brutally honest. You want to be as upbeat as you can. But this is sports, and this is one of those times where you feel almost sick to your stomach from the result, because you put so much into it, and we created so many chances. It comes down to both boxes, and I know we’ve said that a couple times this year. But we can’t come out of this game and say we deserved or were expected to win when we aren’t clinical enough in the final third with the amount of chances we have, and we make a few mistakes at the back that cost us two goals. Seattle’s a quality team and if you really want to come out of the game and say you deserve to win, you’ve got to make sure you take care of business in both boxes.”
On other results going in their favour, but relying on other results:
“I think you could spin it like that and say you can’t rely on the table, and you’ve got to take care of business yourself. And you’re right, you’re right in what you’re saying. But that being said, we can’t look at this game and say we give up. We’ve got six games left and we’re right in contention. We move past this game, and we thank the rest of the teams for taking care of the table for us this weekend. But if we want the table to take care of us the rest of this season, that’s not going to be possible. We need to take care of business, especially at home. And I called this game a championship game. I can’t even put into words the magnitude of the next game here against one of the best teams in the league.”