Dempsey brace leads Sounders past Timbers 3-1

The Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers contested their second derby of the season on Sunday afternoon in a match with massive playoff implications. It was a classic Cascadian atmosphere at CenturyLink Field, filled with all the noise, pageantry, color, and even the several thousand away fans that such a game is known for.

The traveling contingent of Timbers supporters unfurled a beautiful tifo display just after the national anthem ended, honoring their MLS Cup victory in November.

The home side’s display was slightly less orthodox. A mouse pointer clicked a text banner resembling a hyperlink, and the video boards and sound system proceeded to play the music video from Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” essentially “rick-rolling” the crowd. The pictured text banners displayed lyrics to the song as it played.

53,302 fans looked on as the 16th league match between Portland and Seattle in the MLS era kicked off. Caleb Porter reverted to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 formation after fielding two strikers in a loss at DC United last week. Most notably, Fanendo Adi started the match on the bench with Jack McInerney taking his place. The Timbers would miss the DP’s hold-up play before he eventually subbed on late. Seattle, for their part, fielded the same formation and lineup for the third week running. Brian Schmetzer’s 4-2-3-1 earned Sounders three consecutive results coming into the game and the interim manager had no incentive to deviate from a combination that has injected life into their season.

Jordan Morris generated the first chance of the match on the 10th minute, dribbling past several defenders en route to a tight-angled 1v1 opportunity against Jake Gleeson. Morris opened his body and struck low to the far post with his right foot, beating Gleeson but skipping wide of the post. Osvaldo Alonso would force Gleeson into a parried save two minutes later off of a swerving hit from distance as Seattle had the better of early exchanges in the match.

Portland would respond six minutes later when Valeri’s free kick fell past Brad Evans and Chad Marshall to a waiting Liam Ridgewell near the goal line. The Englishman tried to flick it on goal but instead sent it over the bar.

The game continued it’s frantic pace with both happy to play attacking soccer. In the 25th minute Nicolas Lodeiro holds his his head in disbelief after Timbers keeper Jake Gleeson got down and managed to bat the Uruguayan’s header out for a corner.

Morris proved particularly adept at splitting Timbers’ first-time centerback pairing of Liam Ridgewell and Newcastle United newcomer Steven Taylor. The two veterans, although individually capable of marking the rookie, all too often let him slip through the cracks. This led to many of Seattle’s first half chances.

The halftime whistle blew without either side finding an advantage. Sounders out-possessed Portland 63-37, attempted 105 more passes and out-shot the visitors 6-3 (2-0 on target) but came away with nothing to show for it. Timbers could hope they had weathered the storm and could perhaps snatch a smash-and-grab victory via a quick counter.

Lodeiro and the Seattle attack got right back at it as the second half began, earning three corners to start out and monopolizing the possession. They held Portland out of their final third for a full ten minutes.

Sounders gained a golden opportunity to take the lead on the hour mark. Cristian Roldan scampered down the right side of the area and derby-debutant left back Vytas mistimed his attempt to win the ball, catching the midfielder’s leg. Alan Kelly immediately pointed to the spot and Seattle had a chance to open the scoring from a penalty kick.

Clint Dempsey stepped up to take the penalty, having missed last weekend against RSL.

Dempsey wouldn’t repeat his error, sending Gleeson right while slamming the ball down the center. Sounders had a deserved 1-0 lead after out-shooting Portland 10-5 up to that point.

Jack McInerney had two great looks at tying the match in the seven minutes after Seattle scored. First his looping header off of a loose ball on the edge of the six yard box was tipped by Frei and cleared off the line by Joevin Jones on 63′. Four minutes later he found himself with an even better look, pictured above. Diego Valeri slipped by Joevin Jones to control a pass on the right side. He ran unobstructed towards goal until he neared the edge of the area. Valeri passed to McInerney on the penalty spot, open courtesy of a Tyrone Mears slip. McInerney settled with his first touch, stutter-stepped several times, and then failed to lift the ball over an onrushing Frei. The goalkeeper blocked the effort away and with it went Portland’s best chance at taking a result from the match.

Clint Dempsey completed his brace as Seattle doubled their lead on 80′. Sounders countered through Roldan, who passed to Dempsey after a strong run down the center. Dempsey took a touch and then beat Gleeson low to the right-hand post from outside the area with his left foot. Seattle’s highest paid player was clever in getting his angles right; his shot was screened by his marker and Gleeson was forced to position himself towards the opposite post.

Darlington Nagbe passed at 97.3% on 46 passes, but failed to leave a major impression on the match. His passing mark was, however, a high for starters of either team on the night.

Cristian Roldan put the game out of reach on 83 minutes. Nicolas Lodeiro’s corner found a flick-on from Brad Evans at the near post, and Roldan was there on the doorstep to head the ball into an empty net. Sounders had knocked in two goals in three minutes, and there was no longer any doubt about who the points would end up with on Sunday night. The match marked the seventh occasion in the last ten meetings between the clubs in all competitions in which one side scored at least three times.

Timbers grabbed a consolation goal three minutes into stoppage time. Jack Barmby, on for McInerney in the 78th minute, pinged the outside of the near post with the left-footed shot from distance. The ball fell to ALvas Powell, and he passed on the ground to a wide open Adi twelve yards from goal. Adi trapped the ball with his first touch and then scored low to the right of Frei with his second. The goal gave the away fans a score at their end of the field to enjoy on the way home, but little else.

The goal was the last meaningful event of the match and Alan Kelly brought the game to an end after four minutes of stoppage. Seattle continue their unbeaten streak under Schmetzer with the 3-1 result, now up to 4 games. Portland have dropped two straight matches and four of their last five in the league.

Roldan assisted on Dempsey’s second goal before adding one of his own moments later, all after winning the penalty kick that opened the scoring. Seattle’s sophomore midfielder bossed the game in the center of the park – he took pressure off of Alonso on the defensive end and completed a team-high 89% of his passes while putting both of his two shots on target at the other, officially being credited with two chances created as well. The University of Washington product is beginning to put together a stellar summer, scoring his second goal in four matches. His ability to aid Lodeiro in the attack and his box-to-box presence, including several key tackles, made him the most influential player in Sunday’s match.

Seattle next travel to Houston for a Wednesday night game against the conference’s bottom side. A win there would vault them above Timbers in the standings before their next meeting. Portland have a bye in the midweek and will look to to turn the tables on Seattle on a full week’s rest when they play again next Sunday at Providence Park.