Photo by Jennifer Nicholson/USA Today Sports Images
By JASON MITCHELL
TUKWILA, Wash. — They needed extra time and what ended up being a four-man advantage, but the Portland Timbers knocked the defending champion Seattle Sounders out of the U.S. Open Cup in front of 4,022 at Starfire Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Sounders won the tournament four times in the last six years, but exit the 2015 edition in the fourth round.
Rodney Wallace scored the game-winning goal against a nine-man Sounders team in the 100th minute, stepping into a deflected shot and beating a helpless Troy Perkins from the edge of the 6-yard box for the 2-1 lead.
Maximiliano Urruti added an insurance goal against seven men in the 116th minute, driving a low near-post shot past Perkins for the 3-1 lead.
Sounders captain Brad Evans was ejected in the 69th minute after picking up his second yellow card. Obafemi Martins was carted off the field — and eventually out of the stadium — in the 86th minute, moments after Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid used his final substitution. The star forward appeared to injure himself during an awkward fall.
The injury dropped the Sounders to nine men, but referee Daniel Radford was not done for the night.
In the 112th minute, Radford issued a straight red card to Michael Azira for elbowing, and promptly carded late substitute Clint Dempsey for protesting the call. Replays appeared to show Dempsey tossing the referee’s card to the FieldTurf before picking it up and tearing it in half.
A contingent of police or security guards escorted the referee crew from the field after the match.
With the win, the Timbers became the lone visitor to leave Starfire with a victory since the Sounders joined MLS. Seattle entered the night with 18-0-1 record in Open Cup home games since joining the league.
Diego Valeri opened the scoring in the 48th minute, getting a foot to a Rodney Wallace cross barely a yard in front of goal for the 1-0 lead. The Sounders believed Valeri was offside on the goal, their first in a series of disagreements with Radford.
Martins equalized in the 80th minute for what was, at the time, a 10-man team with the unlikeliest of goals, essentially walking into a Lamar Neagle corner kick at the far post and deflecting the ball past goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey.
Kwarasey preserved his team’s lead with a series of stellar saves early in the second half, first denying a Martins rocket from distance before stoning Lamar Neagle’s attempt off the rebound. Kwarasey delivered again moments later, denying 20-year-old Aaron Kovar at the doorstep.
While both sides fielded relatively strong lineups, neither team managed to put a shot on target in a physical, unattractive first half.
The draw for fifth-round matchups will be held Thursday morning.
Wait, so Clint was pissed because they were losing and his team just got red carded, so he tore up the ref’s book?
That is hilarious. That he pickpockets the ref to get the card in the first place is even better.
My question is what did the ref say to make Clint turn around and try to kill the ref? He was like kind of walking off the field… Then he turns around to attack like a rabid dog… What happened there?
And while a fine and suspension is in order… 3 months is radical. I mean people who do much worse get waaaaay less time in the penalty box to feel shame.
Plus, on another note, I thought you had to forfeit at 7 men… Or is it six? I have never in my life heard of anything close to a seven man team…
Maxi Urruti scored the third goal, not Gaston Fernandez.
Good to see Perkins has still got it!
Clint’s just pissed that his USMNT spot is threatened by the up-and-coming Wood and Morris.
Clint’s been a USMNT mainstay for a long long time. Let’s not overreact to some nice performances in friendlies.
If one thing has been shown under JK, tenure means little. Every position is under threat. Clint *should* be worried about his. I hope he is so he steps it up and stops behaving like a buffoon.
Just curious why they decided to play this at the Sounders’ training grounds? Pretty sure this game could have drawn more than 10k on their home field.
They have always played the early USOC games there. Prior to MLS they played the USL championship game there instead of Century Link ( QWest at the time ) after playing the whole season at QWest. So it is more complicated than just draw a lot of fans go to bigger stadium.
I am pretty sure they would get a lot more than 10k. Pretty sure Sounders Timbers drew 67,000 last time.
That is also the home of S2 ( Sounders USL team )
Sounders drew 4,200 last night although that is a sellout for that venue.
Almost forgot no Groupon’s were offered for last nights match
I saw the video of “the ripper” and as a neutral observer it’s hysterical and horrifying for how utterly bush league it makes the tournament look.
That said, nothing brings the clown out of a player like clownish reffing.
hysterical and horrifying indeed. i don’t understand how this reflects on the tournament in general other than crazy stuff happens in single elimination games between regional rivals.
“Replays appeared to show Dempsey tossing the referee’s card to the FieldTurf before picking it up and tearing it in half.”
In a half decent league this player gets suspended for at least six games.
Let’s see what this “league” hands out.
Nice attempt at a stab at MLS, but this is not a league game and suspension will not apply to MLS games.
Analysis of the rules suggest a possible 3 month ban for assaulting the referee. Yes, destroying the property or the uniform of the referee is an assault. This may not affect MLS play, but certainly he can be banned from the Gold Cup. We shall see.
Dempsey believes he’s a thug. Glad the ref treated him like one.
Perhaps this is nit-picky, but I am tired of seeing the word thug so misused, usually in a political context. A thug is someone who robs and murders. Ripping up a notebook hardly qualifies. Too often I see people using terms like this, using insults in place of actual thinking. Please stop.
I have been following soccer for a long time. I don’t think I have ever heard of a team finishing with so few players as did the Sounders.
When you’re paid that much and loose to a club half your payroll,
its easy to loose your mind.
Evans kicked a man when he was down,
Azira’s was a stomp (red) / elbow combo
and Deuce was acting like Deuce.
Rematch next week in league play!
“Azira’s was a stomp (red) / elbow combo”
It looks like you misspelled “blatant Fernandez dive” here.
From a witness at the game the ref indicated to the Sounders it was the stomping action that garnered the red. Antics of the injury aside, it was a likely outcome of the action.
I feel empty
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