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CCL: Sounders vs. Tigres (Your Running Commentary)

SoundersTeam (JaneGPhotos)

Photo by Jane Gershovich/JaneG.Photography

By IVES GALARCEP

The Seattle Sounders knew they had done a good job escaping from Mexico down just one goal against current Mexican League leaders UANL Tigres last week, but only now do they realize just how close that result has them from a historic result in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

Tigres has decided to field a team made up largely of back-ups for tonight’s second leg at CenturyLink Field in Seattle (10pm, Fox Soccer Channel) and that decision could open the door for the Sounders to become the first MLS team to beat a Mexican team in the knockout rounds of the current version of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Tigres has opened the door for that possibility by sending a mostly reserve side to Seattle for tonight’s match. The lone unbeaten team in Mexico, Tigres scored a road win over the weekend and clearly don’t want to wear out their first team when the squad is in the midst of a race for first place.

The team sent by Tigres isn’t exactly a pushover. While it is filled with players who haven’t seen much playing time for the Mexican side, there is plenty of talent. Alan Pulido, the scorer of the Tigres goal in the first leg, will lead the attack, while veterans Manuel Viniegra and Elias Hernandez are also good talents. American defender Jonathan Bornstein is also with the Tigres squad and should play some part in the match.

Tigres has enough talent on their team to score a valuable away goal, which is something Seattle will have to be wary off because a road goal for Tigres would mean Seattle has to score three goals.

The Sounders struggled to finish chances in their MLS season-opening loss to Montreal, but they have the weapons to score in bunches, as they showed in their home leg playoff loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy last fall.

Seattle has a chance to make history tonight, and will have the support of what should be a strong home crowd to drive them, but Sigi Schmid will be careful to send the message that this Tigres side is still very capable of earning the necessary result tonight.

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If you will be watching tonight’s match, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Comments

  1. If Seattle can play like that then they will have a good MLS campaign. I still think Evans should be nowhere near the starting 11 for Seattle. And how he made it to a USMNT starting 11 is beyond me.

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  2. Yedlin is a real USMNT talent. If he isn’t on the U-20 WC team I’ll be shocked. He’s a future USMNT full team starter if he keeps this up.

    Also Seattle never looked dangerous on corners and attacking side free kicks. Who can serve up a quality dead ball on this team besides Rosales? Don’t tell me Alonso who had at least six corners since I tuned in the second half and not one of them was close.

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  3. Observations:

    1. Hooray. But the referee screwed Tigres. Karma maybe?
    2. Seattle was better after Rosales and Evans were subbed off for guys with sacks.
    3. Tigres are the better team, but that’s why you play the game
    4. Don Garber exhibit A. for giving MLS teams the bye week

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    • How did he screw Tigres? Were the yellow cards not both legitimate? What about Yedlin being pushed down when beat for the goal? Sometimes that gets called and sometimes not, but it was clear that his arm extended as Yedlin fell so he pushed off with his arm and it was not a simple shoulder to shoulder battle.

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  4. I am driving the DeAndre Yedlin bandwagon. After his all-MLS performance and this match we can no longer ignore him.

    He is speedy. He looks like Neymar. He plays like Neymar. American Neymar!

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  5. Im noticing that some of the Seattle haters seemed to disappear as this chat went on. If you are a true fan of MLS you’ll be happy for Seattle to have made it to the semis and hope for Houston and LA to do the same.

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  6. Does anyone have links already to any highlights to this seemingly orgasmic game??? Twitter and SBI are exploding all over themselves and I wanna join the party big time.

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  7. Tigres players are having a difficult time coping with the sheer athleticism and fitness of Seattle. You can tell which of these teams is putting in 90 minute game shifts on the regular and which is only doing so in practice.

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  8. Since Sigi is around people working out all the time you’d think he’ll jump in every now and then
    Dude is a heart attack waiting to happen.

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  9. All Seattle has to do is stay aggressive. They are up a man there is no reason to go into a full shell they are asking for trouble trying to soak up pressure even up a man.

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  10. Wow, wow, wow. Those first two Seattle goals were gorgeous. EJ’s was nice too, but those two could both be goal of the week for all of CONCACAF.

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  11. Now keep pushing dont sit back because even if this is Tigres B team there is still quality in that team. No stupid risks tho. Come on Sounders!! (New England fan)

    Oh and Zakuani is some player. Really impressive.

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  12. Wow – after seeing Seattle go 10,000 or so minutes without scoring, I didn’t think they could do it. Impressive second half.

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  13. EJ just said O HAI H8RZ! w that strike.
    Great goal, also a veteran post-celebratory move to tell team to stay calm and play out the last 15mins

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  14. If they’re so dominant, why do they need to start delaying the game in the first half? Chivas de Los Angeles was guilty (and uncarded) for this all day Sunday. Just desserts for an unfit and unatheltic team who thought they could roll out an A-/B+ team against the Sounders because they’re just out of pre-season…

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  15. OMFG THEY DID IT!?!?!?!?!

    THEY DID ITIITITITITITITIREJKFHDIJKSHFUDLISHFIEHLDSIUFLHDSKJFHDSJKHFKJDSHFUIRSFJHRDKFHDSJKHFJLKDSHFJKDSHFJKDSHFJKDSFDSJHFKJDHSFKJHDSJKHFDJKS

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  16. THis is the second match I’ve seen of Yedlin and my only question is HOW IN THE F%$%$ IS THIS KID NOT IN OUR YOUTH SYSTEM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

    How has this kid never been capped at any level?!?!

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    • Lol I agree, I can’t wait to see him at the u20 world cup. Imagine him next to Brooks back there…wishful thinking but it would be a must see

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  17. I hope you all won’t lose sight of the fact that MLS is a crap league and the Sounders are getting run off the pitch, just because the tie is now level.

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      • He’s not wrong though.

        Two wonder strikes don’t really negate the straight domination (in the first half at least). Second half has been another story.

      • He is wrong tho. That was trash keeping by the Mexican. Gspuring OTOH has been brilliant. How is that getting “run off the pitch”?

      • Again, the post was wholly sarcastic. Many of the people above were talking as if the game was going to be scored by possession rather than goals. Talking all about how MLS teams couldn’t compete with larger-payroll FMF teams. . . . I was just pointing out what a bunch of crap analysis that was.

      • That’s good that you can “say” that, now enjoy your crow and post about how the Sounders couldn’t do it without Tigres being down a man. How’s that taste? Probably a little bitter huh? Enjoy

      • Judging by the number of people who responded in a similar manner to myself I think it’s safe to say that was hard to pick up. However, your point about how everyone was crushing the MLS teams in comparison to the FMF teams makes it a little more conceivable that you were being sarcastic. I’m not even a fan of any MLS club but when I read it I felt compelled to respond.

      • That’s fine, you can think whatever you want. The point was, people were saying MLS starters are only barely on par with Tigres’s reserves, no MLS team would finish in the top half in Liga MX, etc. I think they were getting carried away. Seattle got the result they needed in Nuevo Leon and came back and executed a 90 minute gameplan in Seattle. Yes, they caught a break with the red card. But they played to their advantages, and by the second half they were clearly the better side.

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