Dominant, Efficient, Superior: Sounders vs. Portland
The right team won. End of story. Seattle dominated their arch rivals, the Portland Timbers, in a dominating 3-0 victory, once again asserting their superiority in the Northwest and MLS. Seattle had much to lose and even more to gain in this match, (a loss or tie and Portland would take the Cascadia Cup; a win would put Seattle in the running for Cascadia depending on the Portland-Vancouver result and would move them into a better playoff position) and they responded with efficiency and determination to prepare them for post season success.
Seattle drew first blood relatively early in the match in the 25th minute when Adam Johanssen crossed the ball into Portland’s eighteen yard box where it was met by the foot of a defender for an own goal. But Seattle was no bystander in the match as minutes later, in the 28th minute Brad Evans crossed the ball to Eddie Johnson who half volleyed the ball past Donovon Ricketts to make it 2-0 for Seattle. It was a brilliant piece of skill as the ball came across Johnson’s body forcing him to take the ball on the bounce with his less favored left foot. The Timbers had no answer to a factory efficient Sounders squad and went to the locker room at half looking spent and shell shocked.
The second half proved to be much of the same as Seattle never let up steam. The game became increasingly one sided in favor of Seattle as Portland were dismal at orchestrating any form of offensive threat. In the 62nd minute the game was sealed as Fredy Montero slid in on a loose ball in Portland’s six yard box and put it in the back of the net to score his 13th of the season, just one behind Johnson.
Seattle proved to the league that with their offense firing on all cylinders, they could be contenders with the heavy hitters of MLS for the MLS Cup. The key going forward from this match will be continuing the production of the Montero-Johnson tandem and keeping playmakers like Alonso, Tiffert, and Rosales healthy. That being said, this Cascadia clash sent a booming message.
