GOOOAAAALLLLL, wow, finally. thats why we brought saborio in, he gets his head on shit and finishes it. he missed earlier but buried it this time.
well, 2-2 final, ill take it considering the shit we were in, but after controlling the match almost entirely i feel less satisfied. seattle really only had 2-3 real chances and managed to finish 2 of them. im glad saborio got a goal and johnsons header was awesome, findley is really falling hard. he did very little this match and his touch is still complete garbage. he needs to get himself together and quick if he is going to remain in the starting lineup. saborio showed more in 13 minutes than findley showed in 77.
From the point we scored on, Seattle had the run of the play (even before our scoring in the second half, though it wasn't as bad because Seattle wasn't as energized). It was as if Seattle could read RSL players' minds on every pass. We had no continuity in the entire second half. All that we showed after Seattle's goal was due to them getting tired, IMO. our scoring at the end was great, could have been argued to be deserved... This game should have been 3 for RSL, except for the first goal given up cheaply by Russell letting Zakuani get free as a bird. 2 points lost on Russell.
you know i was thinking the same thing, but i dont think it is that he is greedy. many many times tonight he would get the ball out on the wing and then initially try to get a cross off, but he was well covered in most cases. he then would try and do some moves and make something happen. i dont think i saw him take one crazy acute angel shot like he did the last two weeks which was ok. for the most part he managed to get a cross off or at least earn a corner. i thought he was much better tonight than the last two weeks, as far as selfishness goes. and Balance, i dont think seattle ever really had any real run of play during the game. they got a couple counters, but no real dominating possession throughout the match. RSL really had the most possession, it wasnt even close. seattle did do a great job disrupting us, closing us down in space and interrupting our flow. i just dont see how they had the run of play at any point, in fact both their goals were completely against the run of play and the other chance they got rimando made a good save (it was a low shot from about 25 out, i think by montero, straight at rimando). we got a lot of crosses in tonight and we also had a lot of corners, i thought it was interesting that johnson took at least 1 corner while morales was on the field. after morales went off it was up for grabs who wanted to take the corner, andy, will and nelson all took corners. i'd say they were all about equal, nelson did a little better getting the ball over the first and second defender (and was good on getting the ball in the box so saborio could finish). it's clear to me that RSL is focusing on using crosses more, as long as morales is being disrupted or out of the game. i think with saborio in the game this is smart, findley and espy arent exactly known for getting their heads on balls in the air. will's finish was a thing of beauty, reminded me a lot of dunny's diving header in our first ever home game back in 2005. good stuff.
one more thing, good job by the RSL FO getting 19,970 for the home opener, it looked and sounded great on matchday live. it was smart of them to request a later home opener for the weather to get a little nicer. i hope we can get some more results in a next few away games.
I agree - I thought Espindola looked pretty good. Saborio is a quality signing, I think we may have some luck with him. Findley did alright even if his touch betrayed him a couple times. We should have won this game but got a dramatic point that felt a little like a win coming so late.
Hope the game was exciting enough to convert some of those first-timers/casual fans in the crowd. How did it sound in the stadium? It looked good on my laptop, but that never really compares.
Now that you describe it, I agree. Seattle never had the 'run of play.' But, in the second half RSL never had the run of play either. There was no 'run of play' in the second half. RSL had more touching of the ball, but in no way did RSL control the pace or flow of the game in the second half until very late when Seattle was getting tired.
You and I saw the same game. I thought the call leading up to SSFC's second goal was pretty weak. Two quick thoughts: The midfielders (looking at you KB and WJ) get stuck with the ball at their feet far too often and it just kills the momentum because it either 1) forces a back pass or 2) they lose it outright. The timing between the midfielders and forwards was off this game. There were quite a few times where the ball was simply played too late (causing an offside call or allowing the defense to recover) or the forward didn't make run, allowing the opposing DMs to collapse. I do not think RSL played well enough to win this match, so a tie seems a just result. Obviously, having JM out early in the first half didn't help. RSL are going to have to bring a better effort next week to get a result @ LAG.
it will be hard in La. They have that US cup game wed and I don't think LA has a mid week game. I care more about league games so I hope he lets some starters rest.
What a great game! The "old RSL" would have just lost this game. It was great to see them fight it out at the end and with all the corners we had you just knew that eventually one would go in. Saborio sure made up for the first miss with that epic finish. Awesome! Hoping to see a lot more goals from this guy.
For sure... but I did think the first miss by Saborio was a quality shot based on position and such. He did well on it, it just barely missed and he was marked tightly.
4 Great Things: Russell's assist (and Montero's as well) Energy from Williams and Gonzalez in the second half. Attendance #'s Home Unis are SHARP 4 Not great things: Defense after stoppages (throw-in, FreddyL dive-generated free kick) Most of our set-piece service (Will, you're not the answer, trust us, Nelson is better). Jazz fans showing up to RSL games - lots of lower bowl people. Pat Noonan's career The women next to me left their seats about 30 times. We started referring to them as Teen Girl Squad and doing the voices. I strained a groin standing up every minute. I miss my Mexican friends from last year...they'd show up, get a little lit and then scream at Yura every play thereafter...ah, memories. Speaking of the past - Pat Noonan, that's where your game is. You were brutal tonight, thank you. New England - YOU MADE THE RIGHT CALL.
Amen. That's what pissed me off the most about the goal was the free kick leading up to it. Ref made assumptions what had happened. That POS Lungturd draped himself around Olave like the drunken prom date that he is then went to ground faster than Frank Burns during an air raid. Complete garbage. Great game to be at though!
Sabo making the game-tying-goal at the last second made it all worth. Although I did have a decent time (minus kids freaking out and Tyrone Marshall scoring. Tyrone Marshal?). Watch: Saborío scores late equalizer
As much as I'm trying to get away from this, I just couldn't resist... RSL VS SSFC (as seen from section 35) Cheers
Boz, great pics as usual. Your 1st and 3rd pictures remind me that we are getting some great production at 2 of our newest signings. Gonzalez and Saborio. Those 2 should be starters.
Great stuff Boz. Your pictures are much better than mine. Hopefully i can post mine soon! Ive said this time and time again... Cant stand Seattle's chants, and to hear them on our home turf made me even more sick to my stomach. Everyone in my section came to the conclusion that they really really really really REALLY like to hear themselves sing..... the same thing..... over and over... and over again. Glad we got that one out of the way at the very beginning.
I was watching the matches last night and after Houston loss to the Galaxy flipped over to watch the RSL v. the Club that invented soccer. Wow! What a great ending! That header was magnificant and you could see the boys in rave green die a little bit as the ball found the back of the net. Great ending and congrats on the win y'all.
I attended my first RSL match last night. I hope to make many many more appearances this year. Taking in a match live adds a lot more than watching it on a crap feed on 2.2 or FSC, that's for damn sure. The nbest part for me is watching the plays start to develop before it happens. You don't get that view on TV. It looked like Freddie dove to set up the 2nd goal?? was I right? Grab should be on the bench. Our Supporter section was non-exsisent. Seattle Sounders could be heard chanting RSL chanting happened before the game behind the seating. ??? (BTW I was in Section 204) I hate to say it, but SSFC Supporters > RSL Supporters so the stadium announcer needs to stop stating that RSL has the best fans. That's just crazy talk. Even I had to laugh when I heard that. Overall it was a great night. I thought we played a better match, we just couldn't finish. If i could make changes in the lineup id switch out Ned for Nelson and Findley for Saborio. And I'd seriously think about starting Williams over Johnson. Other than Johnsons header for goal, i wasnt to impressed. RSL RSL RSL
My Sunday morning look back... I have to say, I felt a draw was a good result. I probably would have even taken it before the game started. Seattle is a top notch team. I have been saying that they would/should suffer a sophomore setback, but it looks as though none of the rules apply to that team (in terms of when you struggle and earning your right to play with the "big boys"). The attendance last night was incredible. I loved seeing that place full, or at least almost all the way full. The traveling supporters were great. It was nice to have a little more atmosphere in the stadium. now on to the game... The first 10 minutes by RSL were simply brilliant. I thought we were going to have a 6 goal lead at half with how everything was going to goal so well. However, the width and speed of Seattle is as deadly as advertised. One simple, though beautiful, ball across the pitch when both Nat and Jamison were sucked in let them in behind and nobody is going to miss that one. The response was pretty good. RSL pushed, but it never seemed to be able to connect, as JK stated in his press conference, that final pass. Then Javi gets hurt and the wind just came out of the RSL sails. I love Andy, but the game is a lot different when he is the AM. Javi loves to slide in behind the forwards, be in the thight spaces, use a little speed, and find Findley or Espy on an angle going to goal. Andy, on the other hand, likes to drop a little deeper, find the ball with space, and make longer balls that are just as killer, but not nearly as quick as those of Javi's. There was an adjustment that had to be made by the team because of this, but didnt really fully happen until the second half. Two things before half that really got under my skin were the tackle on Ned (by osvaldo I believe) and the timing of calling half. First, the tackle on ned was simply malicious. Sure he got ball, but I am pretty sure if you look at Ned's leg you can count the number of studs Osvaldo had on the bottom of that particular boot. To not even see a foul called on that one just made me laugh. Sure he got some ball, but you might want to check his boots for flesh ref. Then the timing of calling it half. I watched the ref as RSL was awarded the throw in deep in the Seattle half. It went off as Russell, I believe, picked it up to throw in. Now, I know the ref doesnt have to wait for the ball to be cleared out into a neutral area or something similar, but that was simply retarded. to call the game as Will gets the ball with his back on the 18 is poor. I dont know why more RSL players didnt go rip into the ref... The halftime show was actually really cool. While I wasnt too happy with the performace, to see that kid get his make a wish put a smile on everyone's face in that stadium (or you dont have a heart). Great stuff by RSL and Make a Wish and Senor Archy. That was classy Second half was a bit brutal for me. RSL would look great at times, very brief times, but the game would really never get a flow to it. This had to do with a couple things. First, both teams were talented and not going to be broken down easily. People tagged this as the battle for the West most likely, and I can buy that after seeing other teams in this conference play compared to SSFC and us. The second thing that ruined the flow, however, was the consistent fouling by Seattle in the RSL's area right outside of the attacking third and at the top of the middle third. This, in top leagues, is come down on much harder than it is in this league. The refs need to be taught that a foul there, especially by a defending mid on an attacking mid is not a foul that should be tolerated so easily. How many times did we see Andy or another mid get dragged down just as they were giong to finally get into the attacking third? Far too many for how many cards were handed out... The first RSL goal was class. Robbie Russell showed, finally, why he is starting above Beltran. Will looked a lot like him old self in this game. A lot of work and finally some payoff. The Seattle goal came after some nice oscar award winning dives from junkberg. Andy gives him a little tug and he goes down like he got Olave'd. I have to say that his ball in on their goal was superb. I wish Nicky would be willing to come out and get those... but with his size it aint going to happen. Nice goal by Nat btw, it was not Marshall. After their goal, our goal really but you get what i mean, there was a bit of flair lit under the RSL butts. Sabo finally comes on (findley just couldnt get things going) and makes a difference. The ending, I felt, really felt fitting. While RSL didnt, in my book, deserve all 3 points in this one, neither did Seattle. They were hesitant to go forward and really killed the flow of the game far too much. While a lot of people are going to talk about the actual corner and finish, I want to give a special shout out to Mr. Keller. To earn that last corner kick, he went and grabbed a cross and then ran out of bounds with it. Now, unless I didnt see it, that ball was a clean one from an RSL player that took no deflection and was going out of bounds, not on goal. Keller then decides his team needs to practice their defense... and it didnt work out. Great goal Sabo, good ball Nelson, thank you Keller for letting us have one last shot. Overall, it was a brutal game. This actually is a good thing. Those kind of games happen when the top teams play each other. I felt, even with the draw at home, we got to see where we are and how good are depth really is. I will take the draw. By no means am I going to go out celebrating this one, but the draw was one that showed the fight, yet again, in this team.