By Mazvita Maraire Posted on

Sounders simply clinical in 4-0 rout of LA Galaxy

Musovski brace and Snyder Brunnell scores in MLS Debut

Injuries caused Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer to shuffle his lineup.  Shuffling the lineup has become second nature to Schmetzer. Credit the players for stepping up when their number is called. With Albert Rusnâk sidelined for the immediate future due to a hamstring injury and Ryan Kent (also with a hamstring injury) out for months, Schmetzer inserted Jesus Ferrera into Rusnák’s role of playing between Danny Musovski and in front of Cristian Roldan and Obed Vargas.

HIGH FYING START

With Paul Rothrock and Pedro de la Vega, the Sounders started the game against the Galaxy on the front foot.  Schmetzer employed a high press to pin the home side and cause a turnover.  The Sounders caused the coveted turnovers, but creativity was missing in the final third. The issue for the Sounders was a lack of runners in the box. Musovski was stationary in the box, which played into the Galaxy’s hands.  The first ten minutes resembled the last ten minutes of a close match.  Frantic pace from goal mouth to goal mouth.

SOUNDERS SLOW THE GAME AND WEATHER THE STORM

Strategic thinking saw the Sounders slow the pace of the game with Ferreria and De la Vega working a double pivot in addition to the Vargas and the  Cristian Roldan pairing.  Sustained possession allowed extra players into the box. A   De la Vega cross into the far post found a streaking Rothrock, who appeared to score the Sounders’ first goal.  While the goal was deemed an own goal by Julian Aude due to Rothrock’s pressure, the goal counted, and the Rave Green were off to the races.

 Leading 1-0 in the 25th minute the Sounders continued to push forward with purpose. The possession with a purpose paid dividend when  Rothrock’s slide rule pass found a streaking  Musovski, who had his initial shot saved, but he tapped  the rebound home for the 2-0 lead

WAIT FOR THEIR  CHANCE

The Sounders went into the halftime break with the 2-0 lead and as expected the  home side came out with aggression and physicality as they hunted for a game  to get them back in the game. A turnover by Cristian Roldan gave the Galaxy an opportunity for its first shot of the game.  Clinical defending forced by Yeimar and Kim Kee-Hee forced a hurried shot by Galaxy striker Matheus Nascimento. Andrew Thomas was able to make the vital save. The Galaxy dominated the possession battle with the Sounders, content to sit back and defend while waiting for a counter attack opportunity.  An interception of a loose ball by Kim Kee-Hee led to one of the best goals of the season by the Sounders.

PERFECT TEAM GOAL

Kim Kee- Hee passed the ball to De la Vega who split two defenders who passed the ball to  Ferreria to Obed to Nouhou to Rothrock back to Obed to Alex back to Obed, then back toKim Kee- Hee to Obed to Cristian to  De la Vega to Ferreira, who saw his shot saved and ricochet to a waiting Musovski for his second goal of the game.  The goal showed  the maturity of the Sounders and their understanding of  how to kill off games. Synder Brunell substituted for Ferreira in the 74th minute, and the 18-year-old scored his first MLS goal eleven minutes later to  tie a bow on the Sounders’ 4-0 win over the LA Galaxy.

THE BIG TAKE


For all the talk about the Sounders’ scoring spree, it is their active defending and transition play that has them playing the best soccer in MLS.  The midblock is staying compact and in touch with the backline. In turn, the striker and three players behind him are staying tucked in on defense and finding pockets in transition. Credit Schmetzer and his coaching staff, including Preki, Freddy Juarez, and Andy Rose, for being patient with the players as they learned the preferred system of defending with four defenders, attacking with three, and attacking from both flanks with possession and purpose.

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