Seattle Sounders Stick to Game Plan, Earn a Point on the Road
Seattle Sounders FC managed to weather a somewhat stressful first half versus a depleted Toronto FC side Saturday afternoon in Toronto, Ontario. The Sounders, still missing Clint Dempsey, fielded an expected starting XI, with Stefan Frei in goal. In defense, Seattle had veteran players Zach Scott, Tyrone Mears, and Chad Marshall. Finishing out the back line was the young Joevin Jones. In the middle were Ozzie Alonso, Erik Friberg, and Cristian Roldan. The attacking three were Jordan Morris in center, with Aaron Kovar and Andreas Ivanschitz playing on the wings.
Toronto FC had Alex Bono in goal, with defenders Eriq Zavaleta (a former Sounder), Damien Perquis, and Nick Hagglund. In the middle Toronto fielded Steven Beitashour, Tsubasa Endoh, Jay Chapman, Marky Delgado, and Mark Bloom. Sebastian Giovinco and Jordan Hamilton were the attacking duo.
The First Half:
Both teams started out the match in attack mode, and both teams in desperate need of a win. The primary attacking players of Giovinco and Morris were effectively subdued for the majority of the first half, due to each team’s defense dialing in and effectively mitigating most scoring opportunities.
Toronto certainly looked to be the better attacking team, but because of poor finishing, Toronto couldn’t find the back of the net. In the 22′ Toronto’s Jay Chapman slipped through the Sounders back line and went up for a header from about seven yards out that seemed sure to go in. Unfortunately for Chapman, it flew wide of the net. Just moments later Sebastian Giovinco found himself in a one versus one situation with Frei but blasted his shot wide. Ozzie Alonso played a much more defensive-minded midfield position during the first half, being the go-between player in the back to distribute the ball around TFC. Jordan Morris managed to work himself into effective attacking position, but ended up not having any supporting runners to help finish off a goal. This was fairly definitive of the first half. By the end of it, neither team actually had a shot on goal, with most of Giovinco’s shots going wide and high, and the Sounders not having much, if any, finishing threats.
The Second Half:
From the beginning, both teams continued to search for that elusive goal. Giovinco continued to be
Skipping past two of Toronto’s defenders, Morris curled a beautiful strike that flew just inside the right side of the net, easily beating TFC keeper Alex Bono.
stifled by the defensive efforts of Zach Scott and Chad Marshall. In the 51′ Marshall was subbed off due to an apparent head injury. The young defender Tony Alfaro stepped in to fill the gap. In the 60′ Toronto finally managed finish one of their many chances. Giovinco made a lightning fast run on the left side into the box and crushed a shot towards goal. Frei made the initial save, but the rebound fell to the feet of Jordan Hamilton, who had ghosted past the defenders and easily put the ball into the back of the unguarded net.
Down but not out, the Sounders responded well and quickly caught the Toronto side out. From the left wing, Joevin Jones sent a lobbing forward cross to Jordan Morris, who quickly settled it right outside the box. Skipping past two of Toronto’s defenders, Morris curled a beautiful strike that flew just inside the right side of the net, easily beating TFC keeper Alex Bono. That was Seattle’s first shot on target, making it tie match in the 61′. In the 70′ Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio subbed on for Jay Chapman, while Seattle FC forward Nelson Valdez came in for Andreas Ivanschitz. Both teams continued to prod the back lines, each working to find the next goal. In the 72′ keeper Alex Bono looked to get caught at an awkward clearance way off his line, and the ball landed at the feet of Seattle’s Aaron Kovar. Kovar quickly settled the ball and managed to connect with a shot, but it was slow enough that a TFC defender stepped in to block the attempt at an open goal.
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At the 84′ mark, Seattle subbed in Hercules Gomez for Aaron Kovar, hoping to stimulate the searching attack for the Sounders. Near the 88′ Morris sent in a solid cross to Valdez, who managed to touch it towards goal. The ball somehow stayed out, but slid just in front of the goal line, ending the attack. In the 92′ Beitashour absolutely leveled the lunging Gomez, which earned him a yellow card that most likely should’ve been a straight red. The rest of the three minutes of stoppage ticked away without much more attack. The Sounders, digging deep after the recent USOC match that went eventually into penalty kicks, and the limited Toronto FC side, finished out the match 1-1. This is a result that both teams will look to use to rebuild their struggling seasons.
Match Statistics:
SSFC / TFC
Possession
51% / 49%
Shots (On Goal)
12 (3) / 12 (3)
Discipline
Marco Delgado (yellow, 44), Steven Beitashour (yellow, 92′)
Offsides
0 / 3
Corner Kicks
8 / 3
Saves
2 / 2