Sounders 2 – 1 Galaxy
What a bitter sweet ending to an amazing season for the Seattle Sounders.
We got back at LA for the embarrassing loss last week, but it was too little too late as the Galaxy move on to face the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup.
The Sounders came out firing on Sunday night, and the team looked like a completely different squad that took to the pitch at the Home Depot Center last Sunday night.
With a beautifully timed run that resulted in a goal that was called back by a phantom offsides call, we kind of suspected what our reality was going to be at the end of the 90.
I’m not going to berate the ref, or the flags men, even though they deserve it, because in fact, the Sounders made their own bed by not showing up to play a week ago down in Carson.
This was a season that was full of ups and downs, and it just so happens that this last game of the year was a combination of both; a win, but ultimately a loss at the same time.
Love ‘em
Fast start
The Sounders looked the team of desperation tonight, going forward with ease all game, but especially in the first half.
The called back goal could have deflated the team, but it only seemed to push them harder, until Eddie Johnson finally broke the deadlock.
With the addition of Steve Zakuani in the starting eleven, Sigi Schmid let all us fans know that he wanted to pick up the pace, and show a different style of play than the team played last week.
Instead of sitting back and playing defense, the team attacked with ferocity, and should have had the aggregate equalizing mark at the end of the 90, if not for a penalty later in the game.
The pain of watching the Galaxy celebrate was all too real on Sunday night (Photo: mlssoccer.com)
Not giving up
It would have been real easy for the Sounders to go out there tonight and play another lax style game, knowing that the hill was a bit too much to climb, but they went at the Galaxy like the better team.
And they were the better team on the pitch tonight, just like they were the three out of four other times these two teams met up.
After the Zach Scott header went in, I thought for sure this game was ours, and despite the loss, I was extremely proud of our boys for putting up the fight that they did tonight.
But just as it was last year against Real Salt Lake, a second leg victory is pointless unless you have the aggregate goal count in your favor.
Hate ‘em
The penalty
This was both a brilliant play, and a cheap one at the same time.
If we were on the other end of it, we would all be celebrating the chance to score again, but we weren’t, and this pretty much sealed the deal for us.
After the goal, moral on the field was all but lost, and this was especially apparent in Osvaldo Alonso.
Even though he is a gritty player that tests the boundaries of the ref in every game, you could see the frustration in his eyes as he took a yellow card.
And then later again when he was sent off.
This is not the way we wanted to go out, a team that was beaten and had resulted in showing our frustration on the field, resulting in a red card.
We are a better club than that. Definitely a better club than the Galaxy, and surely a better club than the Dynamo.
But we will have to wait until another time to get a chance to hoist the cup.
As the Northwests favorite saying holds true once again, “there’s always next year.”
Video highlights courtesy of mlssoccer.com
About Clinton Bell
