Sounders FC 3 : 0 Colorado Rapids (Match Report)

Record Crowd Sees Record Win Equaled

June 28

3rd played 4th at Qwest Field and Sigi Schmid rang some changes as Steve Zakuani’s late fitness test failure allowed for Sanna Nyassi’s first start in the MLS side. Pat Noonan made his third start as a Rapid and became the first player to play at Qwest for two different clubs. New USA cap Brad Evans started and Seb Le Toux sat on the bench.

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32,526 people were in boisterous mood in brilliant sunshine, three more than were here on opening day as the Sounders opened up new sections to accommodate demand.

The first goal chance came when Pat Noonan set up Colin Clark who beat a defender and found Keller equal to the task. The second chance fell the same way as the visitors dominated the early play, Pablo Mastroeni blasting a long range effort over the bar.

The referee was busy and Ljungberg turned way too quickly for Ugo Ihemelu who was booked. Sounders had overcome early Rapids pressure and were by now the better side. It was soon to be telling.

Just into the second half of the first period, Freddie Ljungberg’s right wing corner was flicked on by Nate Jaqua rising majestically above all comers. His flick header fell to Fredy Montero who was on hand to head home from two feet. Oddly Jaqua first bumped into Tyson Wahl, and the angle at which he rebounded off the left back enabled him to lose his marker. Opinion will be split as to how deliberate and pre-plannned this all was.

Rapids came back at the home side immediately. Nick LaBrocca shot straight at Keller seconds later after the dangerous Noonan set him up. In the 26th, Mehdi Ballouchy volleyed over the bar tamely after dispossessing Osvaldo Alonso.

The game swung the other way again. A minute after Ballouchy’s miss, a free kick from the left forced Rapids keeper Matt Pickens to tip over the bar. James Riley gave the ball away to Colin Clark who was allowed to run a certain distance but again shot over, in a Rapids policy which seemed to be to shoot on sight. Mastroeni tugged Jaqua’s jersey inside the Sounders’ half, just before half time, and needlessly picked up Colorado’s second yellow.

Then came a moment that was at the least pivotal, and at most turned the game. Tyrone Marshall fouled Clark outside the box. From the free kick, Alonso put his arms in the air to shield his face. Referee Prus waved play on but a penalty was awarded by assistant referee Emiliano Monje for the handball. Sadly for Colorado, Omar Cummings hit the right post with the penalty. It was the second penalty awarded at Qwest this season and the second to be missed.

Sounders were hit though in the 39th when Alonso had to be replaced by Ianni, and shorty after Scott Palguta picked up Rapid’s third yellow for an unnecessary foul on Ljungberg. Three Rapids players had swung and completely missed the ball inside the Sounders area, which suggested that the Rapids were making chances, which bode well for them in the coming second half.

But that half was only two minutes old when Colorado hearts were broken. Jaqua fended off challenges from both Palguta and Mastroeni, and tapped it to Montero. The Colombian brilliantly fed Jaqua again who looked like a natural striker in shrugging off another tackle and sliding the ball under Pickens.

Clark lay stricken on the ground when Jordan Harvey went down dramatically in the box, but referee Prus waved play on. It was the last moment that Sounders really had any concerns.

Pickens flapped at a 57th minute corner and Colorado piled up more fouls, with two men already carrying yellows being responsible. For a while, it seemed the visitor’s discipline had gone. With over half an hour to go, it was way too early for that. LaBrocca was very lucky not to be a fourth yellow for nearly ripping Jaqua’s shirt off his back in the 59th.

Seb Le Toux replaced Nyassi and the game opened up as Marshall made a great in box tackle then Sounders struck again at the other end. Le Toux was the catalyst in his first possession as he bore down on goal and found Montero in the box, whose tiny back heel redirected the ball to Jaqua who slotted home for his second and Seattle’s third in the 68th minute.

“On this form, the play-offs are a very realistic possibility, if they can replicate it away from home”

From then on, Sounders played with a gay abandon and produced some free flowing football without really threatening much.

Confidence was sufficient to briefly switch to a 4-3-3 formation. Gary Smith took Ihemelu off to avoid his second yellow more than for any tactical reason. With four minutes to go, Ljungberg’s direct through ball found Jaqua, looking to be the first Sounder to score a hat trick. Pickens foiled him but the ball rebounded to Le Toux whose shot was blocked by a defender.

Colorado’s day was summed up when Omar Cummings blasted over the bar when clean through after great work by Pat Noonan. Colorado probably deserved a goal. Jaqua once again threatened that hat trick when Peter Vagenas fired through a long ball but although Jaqua got a shot out there were enough defenders to put him off, and the match finished seconds after. 3-0 was Sounders’ best result since the opening day, and this was their highest crowd including that. Things look rosy once again in the soccer-loving heart of this city.

For the visitors, they didn’t play all that badly. They created a mountain of chances in the first half, but left their shooting boots on the plane. By the time the second half came around, the momentum had already swung so far against them, that frustration appeared and manifested itself too early. Smith acted wisely to pull players on yellow cards off the pitch, to avoid incurring reds that would have kept them out of their big home tie with Chicago Fire on July 4th.

Sounders consolidated third place in the Western Conference table. With Houston surprisingly losing to LA Galaxy, and Chivas embroiled in SuperLiga play, they managed to make up maximum ground on the two sides ahead of them. On this form, the play-offs are a very realistic possibility, if they can replicate it away from home.

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Attendance 32,526

Sounders FC: Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jhon Hurtado, Tyrone Marshall, Tyson Wahl; Osvaldo Alonso (Patrick Ianni 39′), Freddie Ljungberg (Peter Vagenas 87′) , Sanna Nyassi (Seb Le Toux 66′), Brad Evans; Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero

Substitutes Not Used: Terry Boss,  Roger Levesque, Nathan Sturgis, Stephen King,

Colorado Rapids: Matt Pickens, Jordan Harvey, Scott Palguta, Ugo Ihemelu (Kosuke Kimura 83′), Cory Gibbs; Mehdi Ballouchy, Nick LaBrocca (Jacob Peterson 65′), Colin Clark, Pablo Mastroeni (Greg Dalby 72′); Pat Noonan, Omar Cummings

Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo, Terry Cooke, Ross Schunk, Rob Valentino,

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