Rookie Cristian Roldan was one of many Sounders to struggle at Montreal on Saturday.
By Steven Agen
The Seattle Sounders dropped another late result on Saturday, losing 1-0 at Stade Saputo to the Montreal Impact. A similar performance to those so familiar of late followed the Sounders back East. Some will contend the scoreline did not accurately reflect the gulf in class, as Montreal looked the better side from minute 1 to 90.
Sigi Schmid elected to keep his new-look 4-3-3. The starting lineup saw just one change from the 1-0 loss to Colorado last weekend, with Chad Barrett pushing Neagle out wide and Thomas to the bench.
Barrett nearly made Schmid’s decision pay off on six minutes. With the first chance of the game, the striker headed a Leo Gonzalez cross just wide from about eight yards out. The look would prove to be the best the Sounders would get in the opening session. Assorted crosses from Roldan became commonplace as the half wore on, but few looked threatening. Little else happened for them going forward.
The balance of play was clearly with the Impact, who possessed more than 60% of the time and outpassed Seattle by nearly double. For their part, the Sounders completed an abysmal 69% of their first half passes on only 159 attempts.
Cristian Roldan continued a concerning series of road performances, punctuated by a poor miss on a pass to Mears on the half hour mark. The mistake ruined one of the few counter attack chances available to Seattle. Lamar Neagle struggled to keep possession, as well, and Seattle failed to string a five pass sequence together in the last fifteen minutes of the first half.
Montreal had no issue creating chances. Like Seattle, the Impact’s first chance of the evening would be the best of the first 45. Dominic Oduro raced onto a diagonal from Marco Donadel and used his pace to confront Troy Perkins one on one. The former Montreal goalkeeper got a touch on the shot as it nutmegged him, miracoulously sending it over the bar.
The hosts would threaten again two minutes later, with Ignacio Piatti stinging a strike from distance right at Perkins. A yard or two to either side, and it would have been the opening goal. While the two former instances represented the most clear-cut looks for the Impact, Ambroise Oyongo’s frequent service from the right, coupled with a few more speculative efforts from Piatti and Andres Romero, made Montreal the aggressor.
Lamar Neagle opened the second half by flashing a Chad Barrett cross wide of the near post on a snap header on 56 minutes. Dilly Duka’s shot from the top of the area was blocked several minutes later, and the match had opened up in earnest.
Darwin Jones entered on 68 minutes for Chad Barrett, and Jack McInerny came on for Duka a minute later. The substitutions came just after Lamar Neagle was held onside by Laurent Ciman, and received Erik Friberg’s ball over the top. It looked like the forward was through, but Ciman recovered and tackled away before he could get a shot off.
Leo Gonzalez made way for Dylan Remick on 73 minutes following an injury. The Costa Rican veteran, used only sparingly this season, is the latest in a remarkable series of injuries for the Sounders that seems to compound on itself every week. Erik Friberg, on the bright side, put in a more complete shift by lasting 78 minutes before Gonzalo Pineda replaced him. The Swede played more direct than last week and a couple of his long balls created Seattle chances.
A quiet ten minutes livened up again on the stroke of 80 minutes. Osvaldo Alonso did very well to cut off Piatti, running with the ball at his feet into the Seattle area. Alonso shielded Piatti off of it, but hooked his clearance right back to the Argentine. He cut onto his left foot and skimmed the top the bar with a far post curler from 16 yards out on the right side of the area.
Gonzalo Pineda was the first man in the book, stopping an Impact counter on 84 minutes in his most notable contribution to the game. To be fair, Seattle’s ability to possess improved after Pineda came on. Whether the a difference between Pineda and Friberg in functionality or chemistry remains to be seen.
Despite Seattle’s newfound ability to string passes together, the Impact would finally find a deserved winner on 88 minutes. Ignacio Piatti curled a free kick in from the left side, and Laurent Ciman headed home on the far post. Seattle could have only few complaints, being dominated in almost every facet of the match. An improved second half didn’t lead to chances or goals, and once again the breakdown felt avoidable. There were cries that Chris Penso’s foul call on the play leading to the goal was errant, but it’s no excuse for a club that needed to grind out a gritty result before Clint Dempsey’s return next week. Given that Seattle failed to register a shot on target and were outshot 14-3 overall, that can’t come soon enough.
The Sounders dropped their sixth game in seven. It was their third straight 1-0 loss, each against one of the bottom three sides in the league. They sit at 10-10-2, good enough for 5th in the West. They return home for a Cascadia Cup clash with Vancouver on August 1st, while Montreal host NYCFC.
