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Played
August 28, 2010 10:30 PM EDT
Qwest Field, Seattle, Wash.
Referee: Ramon Hernandez
August 28, 2010 10:30 PM EDT
Qwest Field, Seattle, Wash.
Referee: Ramon Hernandez
90′ +6
Ljungberg is giving a bunch of his old teammates hugs. It was feisty on the pitch, but everyone's friends now.
90′ +6
The referee finally whistles for fulltime. Thorrington has his head in his arms and is kneeling on the pitch, which just about sums up Chicago's night.
90′ +5
Montero tracks back to steal the ball. The Colombian is just a class above tonight, and, frankly, is a class above MLS right now. Not that Seattle will admit it if anyone from Europe is asking, mind.
90′ +5
Substitution 
Alvaro Fernandez 
Roger Levesque
Alvaro Fernandez Roger Levesque
90′ +2
Wow, what a dramatic end. Seattle finally get the go-ahead goal. Sturgis (of all people!) crosses from deep on his left (left!) foot. Montero ghosted in at the far post completely unmarked and headed down into the net for his 10th goal of the season. Horrible marking, but a great cross and clinical header.
90′ +2
Goal Fredy Montero
90′
Looked like Jaqua raised his legs as Johnson hopped over him. Johnson wriggled around in pain for a bit, and Jaqua picked up a booking.
90′
Yellow Card Nate Jaqua
89′
Marco Pappa warming up. Good substitutions, just way too late from Chicago. These moves should have happened at least 15 minutes ago.
87′
Yet another claim for a penalty from Seattle, yet again Fernandez. Jaqua in the mix too, he's been active since coming on. Again the referee waves play on. To be fair to him, most of these shouts are tenuous, but there's still an awful lot of them.
85′
Substitution 
Patrick Nyarko 
Calen Carr
Patrick Nyarko Calen Carr
83′
Ljungberg raced past three Seattle players in one of his best sequences. Jeff Parke slid over and cleared the danger, but Ljungberg's momentum carried him into Parke. The crowd quite enjoyed it when the Swede saw yellow, which will suspend him from the next match.
83′
Yellow Card Fredrik Ljungberg
82′
Nkufo definitely improved as the match progressed, but probably just didn't have 90 minutes in him.
82′
Substitution Blaise Nkufo Nate Jaqua
Blaise Nkufo Nate Jaqua
81′
Zakuani turned on the burners there, just racing past his marker and crossing. Thorrington tracked Nkufo the whole way and cleared for a corner.
79′
Just over 10 minutes left in this one. De los Cobos has a few injuries on his bench, but surely goal hero Calen Carr or Brian McBride can play the last few minutes.
76′
Nkufo with some classy touches finds Fernandez just a step out of the box. Segares comes right through him for a free kick. About as close to a penalty as you can get. Montero flicks the set piece to the right, where an open Sturgis skied it well high.
73′
Fernandez gets a touch too fancy for his own good. Zakuani found the Uruguayan in the box, and Fernandez tried a one-touch behind-the-back pass, but Zakuani wasn't on the same page and didn't continue his run. If a winner is to come, it looks like it'll be for Seattle.
70′
A flowing move by Seattle eventually sees Fernandez set free down the right flank. He crosses low along the touchline, but no Sounders player can get a toe to it before Johnson collects.
67′
I'm surprised de los Cobos hasn't tried to exploit Tyson Wahl at all this game. Husidic is too deep to get at him, and Nyarko has never drifted wide right. Wahl's decent, but lacks pace and will be rusty without very many matches lately. Instead Alonso is plugging up most of Chicago's attacks through the middle. A change is needed or Chicago might not leave here with any points.
65′
36,386 in attendance tonight.
63′
Nyarko, drifting a bit left of late, picks out an exceptional pass behind Parke. John was on track to collect but Keller raced off his line to sweep the ball away.
61′
Substitution Sanna Nyassi Steve Zakuani
Sanna Nyassi Steve Zakuani
60′
Sigi Schmid is giving Zakuani some last instructions before sending him on. The game could use a spark of pace right about now.
59′
Nkufo finally got himself involved. In his meandering way, he strolled from the middle out to the right flank, where Sturgis found him with a sprayed pass. A nice first touch set up an excellently dragged cross in front of goal. Fernandez was inches away from connecting.
57′
Nyassi finally with some decent service. His low cross surprised Chicago and Montero nearly latched onto it. Instead the ball bounced off a foot and smacked Montero in the face, trickling out for a goal kick.
56′
Ljungberg exchanges passes with John, who held up the ball well. In the box, Alonso tracked Ljungberg's run and bundled the Swede over. The referee was never going to call a penalty having recently denied Seattle one.
55′
Ljungberg still getting booed every time he touches the ball.
53′
Montero again the provider, scooping a ball over the backline. Alvaro Fernandez tried to get to it, but found himself dragged down by two Fire defenders in what looked like a penalty. The referee wasn't interested in the slightest.
52′
Montero with a clever ball to cut through the Chicago defense and set Nyassi free. The winger should have done better with his finish. From the corner, Parke blasted over as the ball fell to him at the back post.
45′
Second half under way. Neither side made any changes, but expect to see Zakuani at some point tonight.
Grammatrain music video was played on the screen here for its debut. Who knew bands could be worse at being Creed than Creed themselves?
Halftime here in Qwest Field. Goal.com's Seattle correspondent John Zielonka says there's plenty more goals in this one and that Freddie Ljungberg will get one against his old club.
45′ +1
Nyassi got shoved over in the box, but as he went down his flailing foot caught Brown in the face. The Chicago original is taking all sorts of beatings out there. Free kick to Chicago.
45′
Two minutes added on in the first half.
43′
Nkufo and C.J. Brown have been going at it all night, like only two huge and paceless guys can. As Sean Johnson went to clear an innocuous ball, Nkufo shoved Brown away from the action. He tried arguing his case, but referee Hernandez saw it and issued the obligatory yellow.
43′
Yellow Card Blaise Nkufo
41′
Sturgis slams a free kick into the wall. Not sure exactly why Sigi lets him take set pieces.
36′
I told you Montero looked up for it. Tyson Wahl did ever so well to keep the ball in on the left touchline and cross brilliantly into the middle. The Chicago backline just went to sleep, letting Montero walk in and collect. He pulled the ball back to avoid a challenge and slotted into the far corner for his ninth goal of the season.
36′
Goal Fredy Montero
28′
Thorrington marks his return from injury by notching the go-ahead goal. Crowd deflated and the Seattle players don't look as energetic any more either.
28′
Penalty Goal John Thorrington
27′
Penalty! Nyarko races into the box to latch onto a long ball. As he pulls it back, it deflects off the hand of Jeff Parke for a penalty.
27′
Blaise Nkufo failed to trap a rolling pass from about 10 yards, letting it slither under his foot for a throw. Safe to say his form has been poor since he's joined.
24′
Yellow Card Fredy Montero
24′
Welcome back, Freddie. Montero (of all people) busts a gut to chase down his former teammate and shove him over from behind. Ljungberg wasn't pleased, but it got a few chuckles from the press box.
22′
Yellow Card Steven Kinney
21′
Osvaldo Alonso exectues a perfect sliding tackle on Ljungberg to wild cheers from the crowd. He passes to Montero, who gets hacked down by Kinney. Yellow card.
20′
After a bright and active opening spell, the game has dipped a tad as the teams continue to feel each other out. Fredy Montero is walking gingerly, holding his back, which is a pity because he's looked in the mood.
13′
Looks like Chicago switched to some sort of 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation. Nyarko and Ljungberg are high in support of John, with Husidic right and Thorrington tucked left in the midfield. We'll have to see if they stay like this or mix it up throughout the match.
12′
Blaise Nkufo looked to have wiggled past a Kinney challenge to streak into the box alone, but the Swiss striker handled it with his arm as the ball popped up. He would have had the goal at his mercy there; excellent vision by Montero to pick him out in the buildup.
6′
Free kick taken quickly and nearly surprised Seattle, but it was headed over. When Ljungberg went to take the corner, he was heavily booed. Guess I was wrong about them still loving him.
5′
Collins John took quite a hit from Ianni and has stayed down. He's lumbering off the pitch now, looking quite dazed.
3′
Genius low free kick by Fredy Montero. Only a flapping paw of rookie Sean Johnson could push it off onto the post. Bright start here.
Of course the big story is Freddie Ljungberg making his Seattle return. He gave Steve Zakuani a big hug before the match and waved to the crowd; he's still loved by the fans.
Hello. Zac Lee Rigg here in Qwest Field in Seattle for the MLS game of the week. The Sounders FC fans unveiled a space needle by holding up a series of pictures in the crowd. It was pretty neat.
Results
Times In EST
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Kenny Cooper
Striker NY Red Bulls |
11 | 2 |
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Chris Wondolowski
Striker San Jose Earthquakes |
11 | 1 |
|
Thierry Henry
Striker NY Red Bulls |
9 | 0 |
|
Saer Sene
Striker New England |
7 | 1 |
|
Maicon Santos
Striker D.C. United |
7 | 0 |