SOUNDERS FC v LA GALAXY PLAYER BY PLAYER REVIEW:

Prost Amerika Player Ratings 2009 Table

POLL: Vote for the Sounders Man of the Match
A very physical encounter for Sounders was signaled when Hurtado went down in a challenge after only eight seconds. It was a sign of things to come as LA committed 16 fouls, with Berhalter being responsible for four, and Ljungberg being the victim of five. Nonetheless, it was another day on which Sounders learned more about MLS and themselves, but one which may have further repercussions for coach Sigi Schmid.

KASEY KELLER – Kasey was blameless for the Galaxy goal. In our preview of the game, we stressed that Sounders would face a taller side who had already scored 1/3 of their goals from headers. In the end, Kasey only needed to be left unprotected once for the win to be snatched. That apart, he had his usual influential role, without being asked to do anything spectacular. His best moment came in the 64th minute when he comfortably held a Chris Klein drive. 7/10

NATHAN STURGIS – Bruce Arena put Landon Donovan on Nate’s wing, a task not many players would relish. By the time Chris Klein came on for Jovan Kirovski, Donovan had kept Sturgis the busiest guy on the pitch. Because of this, he didn’t get forward as much as he would have liked. 6.5/10

JHON KENNEDY HURTADO – Sadly was at fault for the LA goal twice. Firstly his misplaced pass to Ljungberg cost Seattle possession, and then he was the player who was comfortably outjumped by Alan Gordon. Tyrone Marshall had a good enough game to cover but this wasn’t El Presidente’s best match. 4.5/10

TYRONE MARSHALL – Arguably one of two candidates for Man of the Match, Tyrone coped better with the different nature of the threat posed by LA compared to previous matches. Several of his interceptions displayed a timing so perfect you could make Swiss clocks by it. Tyrone is still a little too prone to communicating with the referee in situations where there is no clear hope of changing his mind. He’s getting better with every game. 7.5/10

JAMES RILEY – James was having one of his better games, perhaps even his best, as he got more involved as an offensive threat than he had done in many previous games. However, like Montero and Keller before, one moment of indiscipline proved damaging for the team. Sadly, that has to be taken into account when giving out the mark. 5/10

OSVALDO ALONSO – High standards are expected from Ossie. Galaxy provided a type of offence less suitable to Ossie’s game than previous opponents. Nonetheless, his involvement in many of the attacking phases of the match was encouraging, and his closing down of Donovan in the 65th minute prevented a very dangerous opening for the Galaxy. 6/10

FREDDIE LJUNGBERG – Freddie was kicked up and down the pitch today, mostly by Landon Donovan but also by any Galaxy player within reach of him. He made a good job of playing through heavy marking but rarely provided that incisive pass that would carve LA open. His heading away from the locker room to confront the officials at half-time was a little disappointing, especially given the fuss surrounding the Chicago v Columbus game. I rather doubt offering the referee his jersey was on his mind, but sometimes with annoying refs you just have to button it, no matter how frustrating. 6.5/10

BRAD EVANS – I think Brad is the type of player who looks better from the height of the press box than at pitch side. Brad is always doing something on the pitch that keeps him useful. His pass into Jaqua for that glancing header very nearly created a goal on a day where chances were hard to find. The only criticism I could make is that on a day when Freddie Ljungberg was getting kicked about the pitch, Brad maybe should have been dishing it out a little more and letting LA know, if they were giving it, they had to take it. Tyrone Marshall did his best in that department. An ugly side of the game, but LA came with an ugly plan. 6.5/10

NATE JAQUA – Nate’s battle with Greg Berhalter was one for the ages as the two giants slugged it out like prizefighters. I’d say Berhalter may have won it on points, but Jaqua’s fearlessness is a characteristic I really admire. His stooping low to connect with the Evans cross for a glancing header was a magnificent attempt for a big guy. There are goals in this guy, I tell you. 6.5/10

STEVE ZAKUANI – Steve will face better opponents than Tony Sanneh, and at the beginning he looked to have the veteran licked. But as the game went on, Sanneh appeared to get a little wiser, and Sigi briefly swapped Steve and Brad Evans over to shake things up. Steve’s through pass to Jaqua that led to the goal was inch perfect and that just about secures a seven, but I’d have liked to see him give Sanneh a slightly torrider time than he did over the 73 minutes he played. 6.5/10

SEBASTIEN LE TOUX – Seba confessed to me after the game that he prefers playing up front. He did his cause no harm with another hard working performance. He causes defences a type of problem that Nate and Fredy Montero don’t with his intelligent diagonals runs, coupled with an acceleration defenders can’t cope with. With slightly better service, he could have got behind the defence more often than he did. With the likes of Ljungberg, Zakuani and Evans being such good medium length passers of the ball, there is a good case for giving Seba another chance in Texas. However, the man who promised us an interview when he scored his first MLS goal loses points for correcting my French (pas vraiment). One of two candidates for Man of the Match in my opinion. 8/10

SANNA NYASSI – With 17 minutes to shine, Sanna showed flashes of his ability. He doesn’t seem to be as good outside the full back as when cutting inside, albeit we know this from last season in a lesser league. Maybe there’s a case for centering him a little further back, or a little further in. Just a thought. 5/10

ZACH SCOTT – Zach came on when the LA organisation had bizarrely decided to defend the draw despite their man advantage. Nevertheless, Zach showed that he can be relied upon not to let the side down when called upon for shorter periods or to fill in for tired players. His 18 minutes should reinforce that it his safe to select him as a starter, especially if Nathan Sturgis needs to be switched flanks next week when Riley is suspended. 5/10

STEPHEN KING – Did not get enough playing time for a rating.

Match Report appears here.