Sounders FC 3 : 0 New York Red Bulls

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March 19 – Opening Day, Montero, Marching and Men

Wake Up Seattle – It’s Match Day

32,523 people gathered today and saw history, as goals from Fredy Montero (12th and 75th minutes) and Brad Evans who made it 2-0 in the 25th ensured Sounders FC started off their story with a victory and three points. The Red Bulls were MLS runners-up last year but couldn’t cope with the pace of Montero and the sheer emotion of the occasion. Outstanding performances arose from all areas of the park with Osvaldo Alonso at defensive midfield, having an excellent MLS debut against a New York side missing up to five probable regular starters, including new acquisition Albert Celades, Alfredo Pacheco, Carlos Johnson and Khano Smith.

There had been a lack of any confidence in this Sounders side in the media outside the Pacific Northwest and perhaps an overabundance in it inside the region.

Tonight’s events will merely serve to exacerbate the latter and maybe force the rest of the country to sit up and take notice. Sounders were simply better in all areas of the field and bar a period just after the 70th minute, when Red Bulls dominated, never had their composure disturbed.

If there were any stars tonight on the field, Fredy Montero and Osvaldo Alonso would have to be up there; but really the night belonged to the fans and the city of Seattle. The applause given to Keller and company after the match augurs well for the future and maybe GM Hanauer’s next problem is whether to let them all back in in nine days time when Real Salt Lake visit.

After Jair Marrufo blew his whistle and the Red Bulls kicked off, the game entered a quiet period as neither side wished to make an early error. New York played with a 4-5-1 formation with Colombian international Juan Pablo Angel playing as a lone striker. Sigi Schmid had started with Keller, and a back four of Scott, Hurtado, Marshall, and Riley. Nyassi, Alonso, Evans, and Frenchman Le Toux made up the midfield with, Fredy Montero, and Nate Jaqua leading the forward line.

In fact it would be fair to say that the goal was the first real piece of action of the match. As the game entered the twelfth minute, Nate Jaqua held the ball long enough to find the onrushing Alonso. He cleverly interacted with Sébastien Le Toux who slid an intelligent through ball to Montero. The little Colombian standing to the right of Danny Cepero’s goal finished lethally with his right foot through the legs of the unfortunate Kevin Goldthwaite. But it had been Cuban Osvaldo Alonso who had found Le Toux and he proved to be at the source of everything good Seattle created in the first half. He refused to be dissuaded from his harrying of Red Bulls opponents by a yellow card a minute after the goal, well deserved after fouling Macoumba Kandji. The two know each other well from the days when Alonso’s Charleston Battery had played Kandji’ s Atlanta Silverbacks in the USL. Juan Pablo Angel however put the resultant free kick over the bar.

But despite that, Alonso continued to be the dominating presence on the pitch as he snuffed out any pretense of offense the visitors may have had. Minutes later Sanna Nyassi skinned an embarrassed Kevin Goldthwaite but Nate Jaqua’s effort went just past the post. Still Seattle threatened. Right back James Riley floated a cross just too high for Jaqua; Andrew Boyens acrobatically and commendably back heeled a Montero pass which would have left Jaqua clean through on goal and Goldthwaite picked up a yellow after his frustration led him to tug Nyassi’s shirt in a relatively unthreatening part of the pitch.

It was all one way traffic and on 23 minutes, Danny Cepero saved to his right after Alonso and Nyassi combined to set up Fredy Montero. A minute later Alonso again featured as potential assistor but a fine Cepero leap foiled the hardworking Le Toux.

It was only a matter of time until Sounders increased their lead. Brad Evans wandered, you could even say waltzed unchallenged into the six yard box, and only Montero seemed to notice. Evans cooly slipped the ball under the unprotected Cepero for a 2-0 lead. Sinisa Ubiparipovic hacked Alonso two minutes after that, and the Bulls looked to be about to fall to pieces.

On the half hour Alonso found Le Toux with an exquisite back heel, but the Frenchman’s shot took a deflection and felt comfortably into Cepero’s arms. The Red Bulls admirably pulled themselves back from the brink and earned a free kick when Hurtado handballed. He earned a caution but Rojas drove the ball into the Seattle wall. Jeremy Hall replaced Boyens ten minutes before half time. The last first half action saw Le Toux balloon over the bar after Nyassi passed to him.

HALF TIME: SOUNDERS FC 2 : 0 NEW YORK

The second half began very quietly with no real threat from either side for the first quarter of an hour. Then Keller was called into action for the first time as he clutched a Jorge Rojas corner. Nyassi received a rightful booking for an over-enthusiastic tackle on Goldthwaite and Schmid decided to withdraw him to keep him out of further trouble.

Congo’s Steve Zakuani replaced him, initially playing on the right side of midfield before returning to his favoured left, with Le Toux switching sides. 69 minutes had elapsed when Kasey Keller made his first ever save as a Sounder. If any New York player showed any spirit, it was Macoumba Kandji whose head never went down. By now playing as a forward in a 4-4-2, he eased past James Riley before firing a shot fierce enough to make Keller parry it to safety.

The Red Bulls were about to enter their best spell of the game. On 71, Rojas forced Keller into his second and last save of the night, as an acrobatic dive resulted in a corner. Sadly for New York, their six minute spell of dominance ended in a Seattle goal. Zakuani had given them fair warning after Cepero turned one round the left post after Evans created havoc down the left.

Then came the moment that perhaps summed up New York’s night better than most. Mike Petke lost the ball to Fredy Montero 40 yards out and the speedy forward knew from that point onwards what was going to happen. He bore down on Cepero and shot sweetly to put Sounders FC 3-0 ahead. Two minutes later, Cepero prevented Montero’s hat-trick and Seattle finished the game stronger, with Jaqua just failing to connect with a Le Toux cross.

Just before the end, Alonso tried impudently to even get on the score sheet but drove over the bar from some distance. That he even had the strength to kick it soi hard by them was surprising after all the work he’d put in.

Montero was withdrawn in the 90th minute so that he could get a highly deserved applause all of his own, but diehards were delighted to see cult status Sounder, Roger Levesque come on in his place. It was a fitting moment as perhaps the player most identified with Sounders tradition, came on to replace the man who surely heralds a promising future.

Sounders FC: Kasey Keller; Zach Scott , Jhon Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall, James Riley, Sanna Nyassi (Steve Zakuani 68′), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Sebastien Le Toux; Fredy Montero (Roger Levesque 90′), Nate Jaqua

Substitutes: Ben Dragavon; Patrick Ianni, Stephen King, Nathan Sturgis, Tyson Wahl.

New York Red Bulls: Danny Cepero; Kevin Goldthwaite, Andrew Boyens (Jeremy Hall 34′), Mike Petke, Carlos Mendes; Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Juan Pietravallo, Macoumba Kandji, Jorge Rojas, Dane Richards; Juan Pablo Angel,

Substitutes: Danleigh Borman, Alec Dufty, Matthew Mbuta, Dominic Oduro, Luke Sassano, John Wolyniec.

MAN OF THE MATCH: OSVALDO ALONSO. A close run contest with Montero who will doubtless win it many times. But for the man who came up from the USL, this was a towering performance battling a five man midfield. He gained Seattle possessions on countless occasions, created offence with his passing and ran around the pitch tirelessly. Fredy did the pretty things well. Ossie did the housework beautifully.

REFEREE: Jair Marrufo.
Assistants: Corey Rockwell; Fabio Tovar; 4th: Terry Vaughn
Weather 51 degrees

Attendance: 32,523

MLS • Match Reports • Sounders FC


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