MLS: Seattle Sounders- LA Galaxy

On the "Join Now" page of the website there is a 69€ " by invitation" option, if any of you are intrigued by that, send an email to gowi8@btinternet.com and I will send you details and an invitation !

 

Galaxy recorded an impressive 2-1 win in Portland last weekend ahead of which I wrote .....

 

Timbers are getting everything together for a big run at the MLS Cup which they won last year, a fantastic achievement for a club who only played their first MLS game in 2011. They came on strong after a slow start in 2015, 3 wins from their opening 12 starts, 12 from their final 22 and they are building up a head of steam currently, being unbeaten in nine and, after conceding far too freely early season, back to back road cleansheets at Rapids and New York Red Bulls have been hugely impressive. They are coming off a 3-1 home win over Seattle Sounders last Sunday and will have been thinking only about this game in the interim.

Galaxy are a very big player in MLS terms and expect to be involved at the business end of every season and they will be again this year, but they had a tough battle in a 4-2 cup win over Seattle in midweek, with the two winning goals coming in the final five minutes. That was their fifth straight win in all competions, but all have been hard won, they did rest some big names against Sounders, Gerrard and Keane did not feature, but eight played some part in that and the last MLS game. We saw last season, that when on a roll and close to full strength, Timbers are a match for anybody and then some, star players Fanendo Adi, Diego Valeri, Darlington Nagbe, Alvas Powell, Jermaine Taylor and Liam Ridgewell have only played together twice all season (both wins) the last time was last Sunday and all are expected to feature today. The last three give the backline a very solid look, the first three have 20 goals and eight assists between them, Valeri is, if not the most influential midfielder in the MLS, then very close to it and as the Portland head coach put it, he is the "straw that stirs the drinks". Adi scored a whopping 14 regular season goals last season from the end of July onwards and when then Portland are firing, it takes a very strong team to stop them and I am not sure that LAG are quite that team nowadays, despite recent form. Home win. Late edit: Ridgewell is set to miss out for Timbers .

 

That was a very efficient win with Galaxy again making the very most of their chances, which has been the same story week after week and all credit to them for that, but that can only continue so long, they are unbeaten in six, but have only had 56 (32.7%) of the 171 attempts on goal in those games and that will catch up with them sooner or later. They won 1-0 here in Seattle just 22 days ago, courtesy of a Robbie Keane goal, his seventh in ten starts against Sounders and he will be looking forward to today I guess. The hosts dominated that game and had a season high 22 attempts on goal and were denied by the woodwork and some poor finishing, they have underperformed all season in truth, but the shackles might be released today, with eight year head coach Sigi Schmid having left the club earlier this week. He has been the only head coach that Sounders have had in their MLS history.

Assistant coach Brian Schmetzer (pictured) will take charge on an interim basis, a Seattle native, he served as Sounders head coach for seven years during the club’s USL days, guiding the club to two league titles. Schmetzer has previously filled in for Schmid as head coach in four MLS regular season matches, winning three times. Just a change on the sidelines might be enough to shake things up today, the crowd will turn up in huge numbers as usual, maybe more than usual, as the full stadium will be open today, which means they are expecting well over 40,000 spectators and everyone will be extra motivated to collect the three points, with a trip to Florida next week and the post season a bit of a pipe dream unless they win today. The Sounders backroom staff have worked overtime this week to get the paperwork for new signings Nicolas Lodeiro and Alvaro Fernandez done in double quick time for them to be available to play and that will give the new coach far more and improved options. The two Uruguayns are both full internationals, Fernandez played 50 + games for Sounders a few years back so should quickly fit in, Lodeiro has arrived from Boca Juniors, but both have been at the club all this week waiting for clearance, so should know team mates well and will bring a touch of class with them.