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Dallas Draw At Home Versus Seattle
The Seattle Sounders split the points with FC Dallas as a rash of injuries forced the home team to substitutions early on.
May 17, 2009 4:55:22 AM
The Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas sit at nearly opposite points in the Western Conference table, but they wound up even in their latest clash, splitting the points in a 1-1 result.
The outcome kept the Sounders from closing any ground on conference leaders Chivas USA, and also did little to lift FC Dallas from the bottom of the league table.
First Half
Though Seattle was the visiting team, it was clear that Sounders coach Sigi Schmid did not plan on putting his team into a defensive shell. The Sounders pushed for a win immediately, and forward Fredy Montero was in the thick of the action.
The other Freddie, Seattle's star midfielder Ljunberg, was a late roster scratch due to a crippling migraine headache.
Montero's shot on goal in the 5th minute was deflected before it could do damage, but it portended more things to come from Seattle.
The Sounders made good on their threats to score in the 18th minute. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado finished off a pass from Nate Jaqua past goalkeeper Ray Burse to open the scoring for the Sounders.
Seattle could have added to their tally in the 36th minute, but the attempt by Brad Evans hit the left post, sparing FC Dallas.
What was problematic for both in the first half was the number of substitutions needed.
For the Sounders, Tyson Wahl went on for Zach Scott.
But FC Dallas coach Schellus Hyndman had it worse than Schmid, as due to injuries, two from the home side needed replacing. Brek Shea came on for Jeff Cunningham, while Daniel Torres replaced George John.
In addition, Steve Purdy needed to be substituted during the halftime break, as a hamstring injury grew more troublesome.
Just as the first period of play was winding down, FC Dallas struck to draw level. Though the offside rule looked like it might have caught Andre Rocha, he was judged by game officials to be compliant. Thus, he was able to get to a looped cross from Marcelo Saragosa, redirecting the ball into the side netting while Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller watched helplessly.
Second Half
More cards than goals permeated the second half, with each side picking up two yellow cautions.
As both teams dug in and duked it out more in the middle of the field, the scoring chances were limited on both sides.
The pair of competing goalkeepers also kept their teams in the match with some quality saves. Keller made four, while Burse stopped two.
Since FC Dallas had used up all three of their subs by the 46th minute, the players had to be careful not to get injured, because no one else could be sent into the game as a substitute.
Perhaps this led to some more conservative play than would be typical for a squad playing at home. Though FC Dallas out-shot the Sounders on the night, there wasn't much of a gap. FC Dallas had 16 shots, Seattle 14.
Though often seen as a negative loss of two points, the tie result was a positive in the sense that it broke Dallas' losing streak of four games in a row.
Forward Kenny Cooper had a couple of late chances for his team, including a stoppage time attempt that went wide left.
Dallas will next take on the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Seattle, meanwhile, was left ruing missed opportunities, as the team's winless streak continued. They have drawn the past two matches.
Goal.com
The outcome kept the Sounders from closing any ground on conference leaders Chivas USA, and also did little to lift FC Dallas from the bottom of the league table.
First Half
Though Seattle was the visiting team, it was clear that Sounders coach Sigi Schmid did not plan on putting his team into a defensive shell. The Sounders pushed for a win immediately, and forward Fredy Montero was in the thick of the action.
The other Freddie, Seattle's star midfielder Ljunberg, was a late roster scratch due to a crippling migraine headache.
Montero's shot on goal in the 5th minute was deflected before it could do damage, but it portended more things to come from Seattle.
The Sounders made good on their threats to score in the 18th minute. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado finished off a pass from Nate Jaqua past goalkeeper Ray Burse to open the scoring for the Sounders.
Seattle could have added to their tally in the 36th minute, but the attempt by Brad Evans hit the left post, sparing FC Dallas.
What was problematic for both in the first half was the number of substitutions needed.
For the Sounders, Tyson Wahl went on for Zach Scott.
But FC Dallas coach Schellus Hyndman had it worse than Schmid, as due to injuries, two from the home side needed replacing. Brek Shea came on for Jeff Cunningham, while Daniel Torres replaced George John.
In addition, Steve Purdy needed to be substituted during the halftime break, as a hamstring injury grew more troublesome.
Just as the first period of play was winding down, FC Dallas struck to draw level. Though the offside rule looked like it might have caught Andre Rocha, he was judged by game officials to be compliant. Thus, he was able to get to a looped cross from Marcelo Saragosa, redirecting the ball into the side netting while Sounders goalkeeper Kasey Keller watched helplessly.
Second Half
More cards than goals permeated the second half, with each side picking up two yellow cautions.
As both teams dug in and duked it out more in the middle of the field, the scoring chances were limited on both sides.
The pair of competing goalkeepers also kept their teams in the match with some quality saves. Keller made four, while Burse stopped two.
Since FC Dallas had used up all three of their subs by the 46th minute, the players had to be careful not to get injured, because no one else could be sent into the game as a substitute.
Perhaps this led to some more conservative play than would be typical for a squad playing at home. Though FC Dallas out-shot the Sounders on the night, there wasn't much of a gap. FC Dallas had 16 shots, Seattle 14.
Though often seen as a negative loss of two points, the tie result was a positive in the sense that it broke Dallas' losing streak of four games in a row.
Forward Kenny Cooper had a couple of late chances for his team, including a stoppage time attempt that went wide left.
Dallas will next take on the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Seattle, meanwhile, was left ruing missed opportunities, as the team's winless streak continued. They have drawn the past two matches.
Goal.com
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