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Sounders top Chivas USA to extend West lead

Martins vs Chivas by Kirby Lee (USA TODAY)
Photo by Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports

By CAITLIN MURRAY

With a pair of goals each from Obafemi Martins and Andy Rose in a first-half bombardment, the Seattle Sounders rattled off four unanswered goals before cruising to a 4-2 win over Chivas USA on Wednesday.

The Sounders surged to an early lead, scoring all four goals by the break, leaving a Chivas USA attempt at a rally too little, too late. Even in a loss, Chivas USA were able to snap a 597-minute scoring drought in front of a small home crowd of 4,021 at the StubHub Center.

It took Martins just 11 minutes to start the siege. A Brad Evans corner kick was flicked on by Chad Marshall’s head to Martins’ left foot, who swept the ball into goal.

Five minutes later, goalkeeper Dan Kennedy gave Martins another simple finish. With Lamar Neagle dribbling toward goal with a sprinting Martins on a tandem run, Kennedy came off his line toward Neagle, who calmly tapped it to Martins for an open-net shot.

In the 38th minute, it was Rose’s turn to pile on Chivas USA’s misfortune. An Evans free kick found the toe of a wide-open Rose, who slid into the cross to knock it past Kennedy. Four minutes later, some poor man-marking and an Evans free kick were again the ingredients for an easy Rose goal, this time scored on a header.

With the result, the Sounders extend their winning streak to four games as they continue to dominate the West. They sit five points above second-place Los Angeles Galaxy.

The Goats saved face with a pair of second-half goals from Marco Delgado and Ryan Finley. Near the edge of the 18-yard box, Eric Avila flicked a ball toward Delgado in the goal area, who managed to head the ball into the side netting from the end line at a tight angle.

Finley doubled the Chivas USA tally with a 60th-minute penalty kick, for the final 4-2 scoreline.

With their loss, the Goats remain stuck in last place, two points away from eighth-placed San Jose Earthquakes. The match extended Chivas USA’s winless streak to eight games and was also the Goats’ eighth home loss this season.

Up next, Chivas USA head to Columbus to face the Crew on Sunday. The Sounders get the next week off and return to action at home against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 12

Here are the highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gs6CixkzRM

Comments

  1. How about pro/rel for refs? Unkel was terrible. How there wasn’t a card to Reo-Coker for flying in late on Martins is baffling. That’s as solid a yellow as you’ll see. My uncle could do a better job.

    Reply
    • I have a hard time believing there were actually 4,000 at that game. Maybe 1,500-2,000. I am offered free Chivas tickets pretty regularly. I always turn them down. That is anecdotal evidence that 4,000 tickets were distributed, but certainly not all used.

      Reply
  2. I’ve never been in favor of having full blown pro/rel in MLS, but Chivas USA make a great argument in favor of it. Or, at least, for the relegation part.

    Reply
      • If the price is right, it could be much easier for them to unload Chivas. Of course, the league would have to adjust its expectations by tens of millions.

    • Pro/rel makes sense down the road due to the number of cities that will eventually be able to support a pro soccer team but Chivas is a different issue. LA already has a very successful team so Chivas should be moved to one of the many cities that want an MLS team.

      Reply

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