There is nothing to be said about last nights thrashing to RSL besides that we were thoroughly dominated. I'd like to sit here and blame the Sounders for being flat and lacking intensity, but I just think RSL was the better team. Sure, there were a lot of turnovers and some pretty terrible play that the Sounders need to be held accountable for, but there is a huge reason why they played poorly: RSL.
No one besides Kasey Keller and possibly Fredy Montero had a good game. The Midfield was atrocious. It starts with Brad Evans, who I'm not sure I saw on the field at all, and it continued with Neagle, Flaco and Ozzie. The defense was equally bad, as Hurtado and Parke got owned all night. I honestly thought we were playing 2 men down the entire game - RSL was just that good.
And really, I should have seen it coming. Sure, I talked myself into thinking that RSL's late season slump was real and that Morales and Beckerman were somehow not going to mesh after being apart for nearly 5 months. But the reality is that they have the most talented squad from 1-11 in MLS (and this is something I said back in March when they were the clear favorites). I know Los Angeles ran away with the league, but to me, RSL has only one hole in their squad and that is 45 year old Andy Williams, who himself is no slouch.
In the end, RSL beat the Sounders and they frustrated them. Ozzie was lucky to have not been sent off. Putting your hands on an opponents face is a no-no. Retaliating away from the play is even worse. He is lucky.
So now we have a weird situation. We need to win 3-0 or 4-1 at home on Wednesday and you can't imagine the fans are going to be happy. If the team doesn't score early, the atmosphere in the stands is going to be toxic. I don't like to admit it, but it's the truth. They need to get an early goal and have the crowd help them get back into it. It it's 0-0 at half, then they are not going to have a chance because the crowd will have lost faith.
Overall, just a terrible night to be a Sounders fan. Here's hoping for a miracle on Wednesday.
I'm really disappointed about another no-show by the Sounders in the playoffs. Yes, RSL are very very good, but they are not THAT much better than us. The midfield was non existent and the defending was sloppy and without any sense of urgency. I'm sure Kasey was doing his turkey head bobble a few times :-)
ReplyDeleteHow much do we miss Rosales? Ugh, the injury does come back to haunt us. Evans is useless, there I've said it, it was coming but he is a passenger in the middle of the park. And Ozzie picked the worst night of the year to have a nightmare game, lucky to be on the field too.
I agree with you, an early goal is needed, and then maybe RSL get a little panicky. Not looking good though.
Evans was brutal. Neagle was nonexistent. Flaco was terrible. And Ozzie was nightmarish. No way around it. We need Mauro...and now word is that he won't be playing.
ReplyDeleteI have started to talk myself into something special happening tomorrow night. It's perculating...let's see if it boils over.
Well its always a possibility, it's only technically half time in the tie. With no away goals in the playoffs, we just need to attack and attack and attack. Pity its a huge hole we put ourselves in, 1-0 would have been ok, 2-0 acceptable but 3-0 is a mountain. Need the team to step up.
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