Hey Everybody,
It had been a long time coming, all the way back to our first away game in Toronto, but we won again on the road. We also won our first game on natural grass to remove that monkey from our back as well. We had a little help from the Beckham red card in the 16th minute, but we still had to score the goals and not lose our concentration at the back with LA taking more and more risks going forward. It was great to take advantage of the man advantage so quickly. A very good passing move in midfield sprung Brad Evans down the right to put in a perfect low cross for Steve Zakuani to sweep into the goal at the far post.
I was a little nervous after we scored because I felt we took our foot of the pedal a little bit. When you have a man advantage you can sometime fall into a false sense of security. Everybody thinks someone else will mark the runner or close down the shooter, etc. I tried to stay very demanding and vocal throughout the game to make sure guys didn’t take breaks in the game because we had the extra man.
The start of the second half, I felt we started very positive. We created some good scoring chances, but without the goal that could give us that little bit of security that another goal would give us. The second goal came from what can be described as a “goal scorers goal” Montero in the right spot at the right time to smash home after the original cross off the corner wasn’t cleared.
Game got a little scrappy after that with Tyrone getting a second yellow for what looked to me like a little acting on Landon’s behalf. The 10 v 10 didn’t last long. Another little tussle resulted in Eddie Lewis of LA being shown the red for clipping Riley around the head. I’m not a fan of the red card count the refs in MLS seem to dish out. I hope in the future they try to lessen what they deem as a dismiss-able action.
Great to be back to winning ways and moving back up the table. All focus now on Thursday and winning once more in front of the best fans in the league!
Kasey
Enjoy the blog. I followed your progress although I only got to see you on tv when you played for the Spurs (you shouldn’t have been sold) and Fulham. Glad you are back home. Keep up the great keeping; getting you was Seattle’s best move!!
The away fans, led by the So Cal Sound supporters group, loved the match and really appreciated your coming over to our section after the match was over to high five and sign autographs.
Great team performance Kasey. The team looked sharp, passing crisply, denying space. Two great goals and a couple of others that could have gone in. See you on Thursday.
Great game Kasey…you had some nice saves this game. Get us another 3 points this Thursday. We’ll be right behind you.
I agree, the reds seem to be a little easy now. At least we’re seeing consistency with them though. After the red Riley got a couple of weeks ago i had about lost faith in the reffing.
i was VERY happy to see our team stay aggressive & keep pushing – it is that very content attitude that you mentioned that i hate! Score a goal, go to prevent defense. ugh. Glad they didn’t do that today, and Steve’s 30,000 offsides calls just show how aggressive we’re being now. i LOVE it!
congrats on the win, kasey – you had some great saves!
Kasey, great game! I’ve thought all season that we do a lot better both possessing and counter-attacking when you distribute the balls with your throws rather than punts. It also seemed like you used throws almost exclusively last game. Is that part of a conscious strategy, or is that just the way it worked out?
It seems like the MLS refs stick by a ‘if in doubt, card’ mentality.
kasey, great game against the Galaxy! ou made a ton of saves and made sure we didnt take our foot off the gas pedal. i totally agree with you about too many red cards but personally, i am just thankful that they werent given for idiotic reasons like Rileys card against San Jose. Congrats to the team, and ill see u thursday! GO SOUNDERS!
Thanks for the blog Kasey…really appreciate getting your perspective on how the team is playing.
Curious your perspective on the captaincy. Some supporters argue that Freddie might get more respect and ears from refs if he were wearing the armband and he can get in to them in the field more than you’re able to from goal. Can you share your feelings on this? Thanks again for the blog.