The finishing wasn't pretty, but at the end of the day, the Sounders scored just enough goals last night to advance to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. There were many times during the match in which I thought about my post had they lost. Was I going to be hysterically calling for change or would I have been able to shrug my shoulders and say that soccer is an unfair sport sometimes? The bottom line is that we dominated this match - more so than any match I have ever seen them play. Had we lost it would have been unbelievable...
Luckily I don't have to worry about it. Instead, I get to talk myself into thinking that we can actually advance out of our group this year. On paper, I think we are the second strongest team in the group behind defending champion Monterrey (MEX). I think we should be able to handle Communicaciones of Guatemala and while traveling to Coasta Rica is never fun, I think we are probably as strong if not stronger than Herediano. I know that neither of these two teams will be as bad as the Panamanian side we just played, but we were so dominant last night that it makes you think that we will be the favorite to finish second.
In all reality the game could have been 5-0 last night. Mauro Rosales, who (GASP) is quickly gaining ground on Ozzie Alonso as my favorite Sounder, was all over the place. I sometimes get frustrated with him for not shooting, but I have to realize that is not his game...the problem is that we don't have anyone who is taking advantage of the beautiful balls he is playing so his shooting looks like a poor decisions at time. Fredy Montero didn't have an awful night, but continues to be frustrating to watch. He will never do what I want him to do - he has no problem shooting for 35 yards out, but when one on one against a defender he is more likely to dance with the ball at his feet and look for the perfect pass than he is to put his head down, make one move and fire a low shot to the corner. The kid has so much talent yet he tries things like chipping the keeper from inside the 18-yard box. He had the opportunities last night - he just couldn't connect.
I likened the game to a training session - it seemed at times that San Francisco wasn't even playing defense on them. The Sounders connected so many one touch passes and had the run of the play the entire game - they seemingly were in a dangerous position every 2 minutes. The build-up would be nice...the finished would be terrible...the ball would get cleared and we would intercept and start again. Had this game happened a month ago, prior to our scoring outburst I might have been worried, but I know this team CAN and WILL score goals again. While last night's game was one against an inferior opponent that they should win 9 times out of 10, you can't overlook the mental part of it. The Sounders could have easily let the frustration take over. They could have easily gotten involved with the ref...they could have easily got frustrated with their teammates...they could have easily folded. Even though they were at home, all the pressure was on them. Thanks the to 1-0 result at home, all San Francisco had to do was draw or score a goal on the road and they were through. It would have been easy for the Sounders to quit.
Yet, they kept on coming and in OT, Nate Jaqua, the Sounders much maligned forward, saved the day. You can't take anything away from him because he put the ball in the back of the net, but wow, he almost effed it up. I'm not sure whether I think he was smart or stupid for taking the extra touch with an empty, but he scored and that is all that matters. I do want to give tons of credit to Mauro Rosales, though, who even in the 99th minute was still going strong and running all over the place. After having turned the ball over, Rosales didn't sulk but instead stole the ball back, ran at the defense and gave the through ball to El Flaco that led to the Jaqua goal. Just a solid effort by him all around.
Jaqua's reaction after the goal summed up the emotion of the team. Now I know he is never one for exciting celebrations, but his reaction was subdued even for him. You just saw him exhale. It was like a weight had been lifted off his and the team's shoulders. And then a weird thing happened - I was more nervous with a 2-0 lead than I was with a 1-0 lead. Chalk it up the away goals rule. At 1-0, the aggregate score was 1-1. You knew San Francisco would be happy with a tie - they would take their chances with penalty shots. At 2-0, the aggregate was 2-1 which meant they actually had to leave their bunker and try to score. In terms of last night's game, a goal to make it 2-1 would not have been a big deal. But in a two-leg series, away goals count as a tiebreaker meaning that even if they lost 2-1 last night, they would have advanced because of the tiebreaker. It was a very anxious 15 minutes for me. I have always thought the away goal rule was great, but last night I really saw how paradoxical it could be. Even though we had a commanding two goal lead, a simple goal could have knocked us out. We could have scored more goals, had one mental breakdown and go home. Luckily, the defense was up to the challenge and we advanced. We can all exhale knowing that we are still alive.
On a side note, MLS now has 5 teams in the group stage, the most ever for the league. Kudos to Seattle, Dallas and Toronto for winning their play-in games - something the league has never done before. Now hopefully we can have at least 3 advance to the knockout phase.
Oh, and one other side note- I don't enjoy talking about other men's hair, but Noonan looks less like a clown with his new hair cut, El Flaco looks less gangly with his, Rosales and Friberg still look greasy, and Montero continues to embarrass the entire franchise. Fredy, you got to cut the rat tail. I can handle the racing stripes...but the rat tail is terrible.
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