Sounders FC 0 : 1 Kansas City Wizards

Ten Man Sounders Fall to First Defeat

April 11

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Sounders FC’s unbeaten run came to an end tonight after succumbing 1-0 to Kansas City after an 80th minute Davy Arnaud goal. Sounders FC conceded their first ever goal as an MLS franchise. They now face a showdown with Chivas USA, next week. Chivas drew 0-0 with the Galaxy in the Los Angeles derby.

Both the turning point and the main talking point came in the 29th minute, when Kasey Keller came haring out of his penalty area to foil the incoming Hercules Gomez. He clearly used his hands and linesman Anthony Vasoli raised his flag instantly and correctly to indicate the infringement. Referee Abiodun Okulaja had no option but to red card the Seattle goalkeeper. Ben Dragavon came on and Seb Le Toux was withdrawn. Evans who had been playing left midfield came into the centre and Freddie Ljungberg occupied his place. Fredy Montero was withdrawn into the midfield.

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There had been early warning of Keller’s desire to influence the game when he nearly left his box while drop kicking upfield. Okulaja had already run quite some distance and given him a quiet word about that incident. The red may have been for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity or for deliberate handball. Either would have been justified and coach Schmid commented on other decisions post game but had no real complaints about Keller’s red.

Ben Dragavon was Seattle Sounders reserve keeper last season, but is actually a member of the MLS Hardship goalkeeping pool which any club with less than two fit keepers may draw on. Luckily for the Sounders, Chris Eylander is approaching full fitness and although downcast after the game about the loss, seems ready to play. The Sounders players subsequent protests at a clearly correct decision were a little disappointing.

Even before Kansas obtained a man advantage, there were signs that Sounders extraordinary start to the season may be about to hit a roadbump. Another full house was well settled in when the first chance fell to Kansas. Only a timely interception from Tyrone Marshall prevented Josh Wolff from getting clean through. Kansas had made a good start and Sounders were struggling, Evans getting a very early yellow in the fourth minute for fouling Gomez.

The next good chance fell to Kansas but the Argentinian Claudio Lopez fired straight at Keller as the Sounders three game clean sheet recorded looked momentarily doomed. On 12, Le Toux and Ljungberg worked well to find Evans whose dangerous cross had to be hacked away. Sounders were out of sorts. Brad Evans 21st minute outburst at the ref was not an isolated incident. Three minutes later, Montero blasted a free kick tamely at the Kansas wall after Jack Jewsbury had barged over Alonso.

Nevertheless the Colombian was starting to get into the game after a quiet beginning. Then seconds later came the game changing moment that signified the end of the night for both Keller and the luckless Le Toux.

Sounders however seemed initially galvanised by the dismissal and became a perkier team after what had been a sluggish start. Montero twisted Matt Besler all ends up but fired at Kevin Hartman. Sounders however were very happy to go in at half time at 0-0.

The home side were by far the more enterprising side in the early stages of the second half, and Kansas did themselves no favours by continual play acting, Santiago Hirsig being the main culprit. Linesman Vasoli was 100% right again in the 56th minute when he raised his flag to call Montero offside to foil a goal scoring opportunity. A minute later, Nate Jaqua turned Aaron Hohlbein around and passed to the effervescent Brad Evans. It was a great opportunity for a ten man side and Hartman made an outstanding save, which was to prove to be a game winner.

Still the ten men pressed forward and created the better chances. Ljungberg tapped a free kick to Montero whose drive hit the top of the cross bar with Hartman beaten. Michael Krause replaced the histrionic Hirsig and this gave Kansas a better balance and a more settled look. In truth, the ten man Seattle side had unsettled them and that was a credit to the Sounders spirit but clearly concerned Curt Onalfo. On the 64th minute came perhaps Seattle’s last and best chance to overturn the odds. Nate Jaqua worked tirelessly to retrieve a ball on the goal line after Hartman and Davie Arnaud had both left it to each other. He fed the unmarked Montero who had a perfect shot at goal. His effort was heroically deflected over by the lunging Besler.

Michael Harrington replaced the extremely hard working Hercules Gomez and just before the 77th minute, substitute goalkeeper Ben Dragavon made a world class save as Claudio Lopez swiveled on his left and volleyed with his right. Dragavon sprawled at full length to paw the goal bound effort around his right post to thunderous applause.

But five minutes later came the goal that terminated Seattle’s dream start. Jack Jewsbury found Davie Arnaud in far too much space as the man advantage began to take its toll on a weary Seattle side. He fired in with his right from 30 yards and although Dragavon got a right hand to the shot, it nestled in the right hand corner of his net.

Sigi Schmid was forced to abandon any caution and Sanna Nyassi and Steve Zakuani were both thrown into the mix. The latter created a wonderful opportunity from the left side in the 88th minute and dropped his cross right on Nate Jaqua’s head. Sadly, the former Houston striker could not direct his header and it went past the post.

It was to be Sounders last chance and shortly after Mr Okulaja blew the final whistle. Keller’s dismissal turned the game although it is by no means certain that Kansas wouldn’t have won anyway. They had been the better side until his dismissal and the depth of experience they brought to Qwest Field made them far less daunted than previous visitors.

There were many pluses for the defeated home side. The spirit exhibited by the remaining players was commendable. Sigi Schmid said after the game, “that they are really excited after playing with a man up for an hour and coming up with a 1-0 squeaker, shows how much respect our team has got.” Freddie Ljungberg showed some exquisite touches and when 100% fit is going to illuminate this league. Alonso adapted professionally and intelligently to the changes in his role after the red card, and a tip of the hat has to go to the Seattle crowd who stayed to the very end of this game, and cheered their side on despite the defeat.

Lastly, a word about the officials. It is said by wiser men than me that you only notice the bad referees. Tonight was an exception. Mr Okulaja handled the game very well despite some pressure from both sets of players. There may have been some smaller calls missed as is normal in any game, but his assistants got the big calls right, and whether you are a Sounders fan or not, it is good to see that no-one, even if rightfully a legend, is above the law in the MLS. There are some leagues in Europe that could learn a lesson from what transpired tonight.

We learned a lot about the Sounders tonight. And much of it was good.

Seattle Sounders FC (3-0-1): Kasey Keller; James Riley, Tyrone Marshall, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Zach Scott (Sanna Nyassi 86′); Sébastien Le Toux (Ben Dragavon 29′), Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Freddie Ljungberg (Steve Zakuani); Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua.

Subs not used: Patrick Ianni, Roger Levesque, Tyson Wahl, Nathan Sturgis,

Kansas City Wizards (2-0-2): Kevin Hartman; Jimmy Conrad, Aaron Hohlbein, Matt Besler, Lance Watson; Jack Jewsbury, Santiago Hirsig (Michael Kraus 64′), Hercules Gomez (Michael Harrington 77′), Josh Wolff; Claudio Lopez (Roger Espinoza 82′), Davie Arnaud.

Subs not used: Boris Pardo, Abe Thomson, Rauwshan McKenzie, Kevin Souter

Attendance: 28,746
Temperature: 53°F

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