The Seattle Sounders are still alive for a third trophy this year, and if they are going to add an MLS Cup to their U.S. Open Cup and Supporters’ Shield they will need to beat (or post a 0-0 tie) vs. FC Dallas tonight (10:30pm, NBC Sports).
The Sounders posted a 1-1 tie in the first leg in Texas, and will be heavily favored to win tonight in front of a packed house at CenturyLink Field.
FC Dallas has the attacking weapons to make things difficult for Seattle though, and Mauro Diaz is back from suspension to try and be the midfield maestro necessary to break down the Sounders’ defense.
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.
Jesus.
*Suitor from somewhere in Europe or a club in the Copa Libertadores
Dallas GK, Chris Seitz was a STUD!
Yeah. They should really sell Fernandez in the summer. There has to be a suitor from someone in Europe of a club in the Copa Libertadores
I don’t really care which gets sold/traded to be honest. Seitz is younger if that means anything.
We already sold our young Home grown keeper to Mexico right?
Maybe we can trick Keisuke Honda into staying if he drops by again.
Pappa was extremely poor tonight and single handily killed numerous attacks, should be used as an impact sub only. Dempsey missed a couple golden chances, Seattle needs its best players to shine and they failed too tonight. Azira was very good coming on for Alosno I felt though.
Pineda didn’t look too sharp either. Azira was a great sub.
fc dallas could of easily won n sounders play typical sigi soccer(boring)
its sad but galaxy might give sounders another sigi reality check.
galaxy vs revolution mls cup. i think fc dallas is a better team than sounders n galaxy.
No way, LAG is the better team but his season the Sounders had their number.
Naw, Were not better than them. Just more defensively solid. Seattle is very very reliant on Martins and Dempsey. Dallas totally negated them.
I think Diaz being out the first leg(and most of the season) made it so Dallas wasn’t quite ready to play anything other than counter attacks. Which Seattle tried to prevent from happening. Yedlin stayed home almost the entire night.
He did. He stayed home so Pappa could tuck in to try and clog the midfield and Leo Gonzales get forward and it worked after a while. Castillo played on that side most of the night to try and take advantage but they just sat back and absorbed it all night.
Tesho was nowhere so they didn’t have to worry about the other flank
Selfish LA Galaxy went and used up all the goals last night.
I’m not so sure either team really deserves to go through. Dallas slow in transition in the second half. Sounders just hanging on to a 0-0 draw at home. Dempsey and Martins were the only players forward for most of the second half.
“Dempsey and Martins were the only players forward for most of the second half.”
This happened a lot in Dallas too. It was very Jose Mourinho.
That actually happens in a lot of Sounders matches…where Dempsey and Martins score. On that point:
Shots (on target):
Seattle, 14 (5)
Dallas, 9 (1)
Say whatever about tactics, but Seattle pressed and Seitz is the only reason that isn’t abundantly obvious.
They pressed high and sprang long balls forward. It’s the archetypical MLS tactic since it’s birth
Pairing Oba “Video Game” Martins with Clint Dempsey is hardly archetypal MLS.
Minus the age of the Million Dollar transfer foward
Ya, its annoying how well it works.
Some people act like Sigi has learned tactics. I think he just learned to let Martins and Dempsey do what they want and have Chad Marshall stop goals.
It sucks because by the time the soccer audience catches up football on a sophisticated level, Sigi, Arena, Bradley will have gone down as these Savants of American Soccer when their really just a bunch of college system wannabes.
Arena is a great man manager. Bradley is the definition of getting it done. Both are good if limited.
I don’t like Sigi. His players get blamed for the weird way they set up sometimes. Yedlin is a frequent victim. Telling Yedlin to overlap on Kenny Cooper then being shocked that Cooper(A striker) doesn’t help Yedlin at all is silly.
You got that right. It’s what bugs me about Sigi: he doesn’t seem to know how to maximize his second-tier players. When you start with Dempsey-Martins up top, Alonso covering midfield, Chad Marshall at back, and Yedlin on the wing, the tactics are pretty obvious. It’s how to fill the rest of the spaces that matters.
How many times did we see Hedges and Zimmerman collapsing on top of Martins tonight while Dempsey was similarly double-teamed in the midfield after making the pass? At least a dozen. That’s 4 Dallas defenders tied up by only 2 Seattle attackers. That’s the moment when a Sounders fan wants to see the third and fourth attacking options show a bit off-center—and totally open.
Bless his heart, Neagle tries and often succeeds at being that additional attacking threat, but it often seems like in doing so he’s going against the Sigi grain. “Why have midfielders attack when we can have Yedlin bomb forward and cross it in to—guess who—Martins and Dempsey?”
Well Bob less then anyone else. I should take that back as he probably is the exception and should be remembered in Soccer history.
As far as Arena, he might be good at politicking, but he always plays players in their unnatural positions.
AJ De La Garza was obviously always a outside back, not looking at his size. Sean Franklin was so not ever an outside mid. It’s like having Kyle Walker at Tottenham play attacking mid. Sarvas outwide….idk
Typical…Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Jermaine Jones in the Finals. I so wish it would of been Toronto instead of New England in there.
NEVER, The Revs are playing a very entertaining game, specially that little guy, number 24, the one everyone are saying he WIN!
Your right. He’s the only thing I’m looking forward too in the playoffs now. Lee Nguyen is the 2014 MVP regardless if Donovan gets it
Barf if Donovan gets it. Nguyen over Martins over Keane.
(Unless it were deemed permissible to include defenders in the conversation.)
I wouldn’t be opposed to Martins but it should be Nguyen. Keane is fine too I suppose.
I agree. In that order, completely
Whats typical? That good team with good players made the conference finals?
Lame should have been a Dallas throw in. I don’t know how Zimmerman could have sent it that direction.
Crap no Michel…Diaz?
Urg, Sub Tesho out for Escobar please.
Should have been Teasho…
I think the idea might of been the speed Tesho has to offer if Perez might of been fatiguing from all the heavy pressing
Ya but Tesho’s touch and passing has been so poor. =/
Oh well.
Not good as a sounders fan. If we make it thru would hurt bad to be missing alonso
Is number 13 for Dallas the kid that is suppose to be called for MNT? If he is, I’m not impressed so far.
Neither am I. He’s intimidated by the atmosphere and can’t keep up with the rest of FCD. Worst player of the game so far for FCD.
I thought you were talking about Hedges. Tesho isn’t anything special yet. Hedges however is doing his best to enter a crowded CB fight. He is the guy at Dallas that has really been special this year.
The amount of of talented CBs Dallas has been able to amass since 2010 is amazing. Ugo Ihemelu, George John and now Matt Hedges. Potentially Walker Zimmerman.
Our defense would be so tight if George John was healthy.
It would be a beast. It would challenge our 2010 defense.
Hedges has completely marked Dempsey out of the game.
Hedges has been especially impressive this year. I don’t, however, see him breaking into the USMNT any time soon, but not for lack of quality. It’s just a crowded position for the US.
Hedges and Zimmerman did well to close in on Martins most times he had the ball—like two walls of a cave collapsing in. Martins couldn’t break through.
I don’t know if Besler is really any better then Hedges quite honestly. I’ll think he’ll get a look at some point and if he shows, they both and Ream can all be competing candidates at LCB.
Besler might be better playing out of the back but Hedges(being 4 in taller) is probably better at cleaning up and clearing out attacks. Dallas doesn’t really lend itself to playing calmly out of the back.
CB is so crowded. Hedges has time though. 2 years younger than Omar. Hedges would really have to stand out in the January camp.(I assume all the random MLS guys will get called into that.)
Well the thing I appreciate about Jurgen is he’s always trying to establish depth and identify players who can actually compete and he’s very transparent with his intentions. So even though Hedges might end up being the 5th option on the list, we’ll end up knowing it somehow, through actions or comments
Seattle is getting away with MURDER!!
waaahhhh
Try to see what your implying and then really look at your comment
Dallas has had a couple really impressive passing sequences in tight spaces, but it seems like too much sometimes. Shoot sooner.
FCD pretty sharp on the ball. I can see them scoring first.
Entertaining game so far! Dempsey and Martins just cant quite connect just yet though.