Although they played with a man advantage for nearly 75 minutes, the Sounders (1-1-1, four points) couldn’t break through against FC Dallas and managed a 0-0 draw with the Texans FC Saturday night at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX. Shackled without Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins (both injured) and missing Marco Pappa (international duty), the Sounders snapped FC Dallas’ MLS-best winning streak at three matches.
Dallas dominated the early part of the match, but on a counter in the 16th minute Kellyn Acosta drew a red card for fouling Seattle’s Andy Rose (kicked Rose in the stomach). The Sounders couldn’t capitalize. They managed just seven shots over the 90 minutes, none on goal.
Even playing a man down, FC Dallas had several scoring chances in the first half. Notably, in the 29th minute, Fabian Castillo dribbled through three Sounder defenders before being brought down. On the free kick, Michel was able to thread through the Seattle defense, but his shot on goal went just over the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
The Sounders nearly scored early in the second half on a cross from Leo Gonzalez that reached the back post, but Rose’s shot sailed wide. The Sounders had a great chance in the 54th minute when Chad Barrett received a pass from outside the box, but he sent a header wide left of the net. In the 72nd minute, Lamar Neagle sent a ball that pierced the Dallas back line, but Barrett couldn’t get it on frame.
In the 80th minute, Rose missed a scoring opportunity.
The Sounders controlled the ball for 62.3 percent of the match and held FC Dallas to just four shots (none on goal). But without Dempsey, Martins and Pappa, and still missing Ozzie Alonso (groin surgery), they were unable to generate sustained offense.
Next
The Sounders return to CenturyLink Field next Saturday for a 7 p.m. match against the Houston Dynamo.
4 Comments
At least the team got a point for a road win. Yes, they were missing five players but there was a lack of energy on the team it seemed. Chalk it up to being early in the season.
Is there any good reason Kenny Cooper didn’t play in this match? The man is 6’3″ and has 75 career MLS goals, 46 of them while playing with the team the Sounders were playing. It’s not as though he could’ve done any worse.
Cooper is apparently on a leave of absence, or a string of excused absences. Whether it involves a contract restructuring, a trade/release, or a personal issue, it’s unclear.
The lack of killer instinct a man up bothers me. San Jose controlled the second half last week after their red card, and though Dallas defended well. Seattle should’ve gotten more shots than they did.