Sounder FC ( 11-7-9 and 42 points ) earned a second consecutive 1-1 tie Sunday night against the Portland Timbers (11-9-8, 41 points) in front of 51, 796 fans disappointed fans. The good news is that the Seattle Sounders are not losing games in their current form. The Sounders are unbeaten in their last eleven matches. The bad news is that the Rave Grave have earned just five points in their last three games.
A 2-1 win over Minnesota was followed by consecutive 1-1 draws against Cascadia Rivals Vancouver then Portland. A dramatic stoppage time penalty kick in the Minnesota game gave the Sounders the win, while a man advantage for the last 30 minutes of the game salvaged the tie in Vancouver and the inability to finish in the final third of the field resulted in the 1-1 tie against the Timbers.
Portland started Sunday nights Darby match on the attack. The visiting Timbers had three corner kicks in the first four miniutes of the game. The Timbers were attacking the left side of the Seattle defense with regularity. Despite their offensive dominance, the Timbers were unable to breakdown the Seattle defense.
Portlands inability to score cost them in the 18th minute when Seattle took the 1-0 lead on its first corner kick of the game. Midfielder Cristian Roldan collected a loose ball in front of the Timbers goal and rifled it into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Timbers tied the game just before halftime when Diego Valeri converted a penalty kick to tie the game. Sounders defender Kevin Leerdam was deemed to have fouled Darren Mattocks in the Seattle penalty box.
The Sounders were able to win the possession battle and dominate the second half with shorter passes but the go ahead goal never came. Seattle defender Nouhou was given a straight red card for elbowing Diego Chara in the 93rd minute and Seattle finished the game with ten man. While the Sounders remain number one in the Western Conference standing with 42 points , the Timbers are right behind them in second place with 41 points.
Several Sounders players will be participating in the the upcoming FIFA International Break. The Sounders next MLS game will be September 10th at home versus the LA Galaxy. Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris have all been called in by USMNT coach Bruce Arena, while Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay), Roman Torres (Panama), Gustav Svensson(Sweden), Nouhou (Cameroon), and Joevin Jones (Trinidad and Tobago) will feature for their respective countries as well.
