Seattle Sounders: Tactical Change Gives Sounders Statement Win in LA
The Seattle Sounders traveled to take on the LA Galaxy and left with a 3-0 victory thanks to a tactical change up top.
The Seattle Sounders claimed their second win of the season on Sunday against the LA Galaxy, scoring three first half goals to win 3-0 against a very lackluster LA Galaxy side. Goals from Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris, and an own goal from Ashley Cole gave Seattle all they needed to claim the win. Here are three takeaways from Sunday:
The First of Many Starts for Will Bruin
We called for a tactical change prior to Sunday’s game and the Brian Schmetzer delivered. Will Bruin got his first start of the season against the LA Galaxy, moving Jordan Morris to the wing in place of Harry Shipp. After this performance from the top four of Bruin, Morris, Dempsey and Lodeiro, this is how we should expect the Sounders to line up for the foreseeable future.
When Will Bruin was first signed, most fans expected him to be a backup for Jordan Morris as well as late attacking sub, which is how he was used up until Sunday afternoon. His start, though, showed how Seattle can use him in a starting role going forward. His hold up play was significantly better than Morris’, allowing supporting players to get involved the attack more successfully. Morris also made much more of a difference on the wing Sunday than he did playing as a number nine the past few weeks.
Defensive Depth Won’t Be A Problem Anytime Soon
With injuries to Chad Marshall, Roman Torres, Oniel Fisher and Brad Evans, three-quarters of the starting backline were depth players. Gustav Svensson, Tony Alfaro, and Jordy Delem came in seamlessly and claimed the Rave Green’s first shutout of the year. The three of them, especially Delem and Alfaro who are 23 and 24 years old respectively, showed that when Seattle’s first choice backline isn’t available, there shouldn’t be too much to worry about anytime soon.
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It isn’t right to talk about Seattle’s defensive efforts without talking about Cristian Roldan and Ozzie Alonso. The two of them ran the midfield yesterday in what was one of their best pair performance all season. Because of their understanding of one another, between the two of them they were able to keep Giovani dos Santos out of the game almost entirely.
A Turning Point in Seattle’s Season?
How far can we read into the Sounders’ win over LA? Can we say the MLS Cup Champions are back and ready to defend their title?
It is important to remember that though there were some wonderful performances put in by the likes of Dempsey, Lodeiro, and the backline, this was very much a lackluster LA team that made the game difficult on themselves. Though this is a great way to gain some momentum, Sounders fans will have to gauge the success of the team against the likes of Toronto FC, the Chicago Fire, and Sporting Kansas City in the coming weeks before they make the claim that Seattle is ready for business.
The Sounders’ next match will be at home in Seattle against the New England Revolution with kickoff on Saturday at 10pm EST (7pm PST).