Seattle has not been a happy hunting ground for San Jose head coach Dominic Kinnear. His new side San Jose have won there with regularity over the years and generally have one of the better records against the Sounders.
However the same is not true of Kinnear himself.
In six visits there as Houston Dynamo coach, he did not walk away with a win. His side scored only twice on those six visits. There was a Starfire Open Cup loss in 2009 to boot.
Kinnear was therefore upbeat when asked about finally breaking this long winless streak:
“It’s a great place to play. MLS has come a long way and there are some great places – Seattle is definitely one of those places.
“You want to win. You want to get a good result, but in the end, what’s good for the game is an atmosphere like that.”If that’s the first time I’ve won there, that shows you how difficult is it because I’ve had some good teams. Give credit to Sigi [Schmid] and the organization and the fans.”
Kinnear has faced the interviewer’s mic after each of those five defeats and two draws.
Unlike many a visiting coach, he has rarely cranked up the excuse machine.
So willing is he to accept responsibility, that he once refused to answer a question on the state of the turf which had been particularly abysmal that day.
“You saw the turf,” he told the reporter. “You can write your view of it. I’m not going to use it as an excuse for my team. Both sides played on it.”
Once asked if there were any positives whatsoever he could take from a defeat there, he answered ‘no’ and waited for the next question. Quite a few of his colleagues could benefit from adopting such an approach.
Fredy Montero scores for Seattle in 2010
Generally however, despite the results, he enjoys playing in Seattle:
“We’ve played on turf quite a lot now over the years. A lot of guys in college played on turf, so it makes it a little bit easier.
“The one thing I like is this is what you grow up dreaming about as a kid – playing in front of 40-50,000 fans.
“Walking out onto the field is wonderful. I think it’s really great for the game and helps mature some of the younger players much faster.”
Now that he finally has a good memory of the Emerald City, the next time he walks out onto the field may be even more wonderful.
Dominic Kinnear in Seattle
March 15, 2015 – Sounders FC 2 : 3 San Jose
August, 2014 – Sounders FC 2 : 0 Houston
March 23, 2012 – Sounders FC 2 : 0 Houston
March 25, 2011 – Sounders FC 1 : 1 Houston
August 8, 2010 – Sounders FC 2 : 0 Houston
October 29, 2009 – Sounders FC 0 : 0 Houston
July 21, 2009 – Sounders 2 : 1 Houston (US Open Cup)
July 11, 2009 – Sounders FC 2 : 1 Houston
