Adi proved to be a handful for both center backs right from minute one.

By Toby Dunkelberg

There wasn’t a whole lot of good in Seattle’s 4-1 loss on Sunday. They were outplayed in every aspect of the game and at every position. Performances like this aren’t unheard of for a side playing their third game in eight days while also being forced into playing five players who normally wouldn’t start in their position. But the Sounders were lucky to score and only generated one shot on goal while giving up eleven. It’s a performance they’ll need to put behind them before their matchup against the MLS leading DC United. Let’s dive into exactly what went wrong or each player.

STARTERS

Stefan Frei – 6.5 – It’s not a goalkeepers fault when the defense in front of him implodes. That was Frei’s story on Sunday night. Despite coming up huge and making seven saves, including a ridiculous reaction save in the 52nd minute, the Timbers managed to put four by him. The sad thing for Sounders fans is that without Stefan Frei it’s very likely a 6-1 or even 7-1 game.

Tyrone Mears – 5 – Let’s get this out of the way quickly. Mears had a great service on Seattle’s first goal, but it’s downhill from there. On the second goal he doesn’t close down on the ball. You could argue that he laid off because Wallace was running onto the ball but you need to deal with the primary threat first and he didn’t do that. This was a game where the defense as a whole was poor, so although he had notched an assist he gets a poor score.

Brad Evans – 5.5 – He got caught between a rock and a hard place on the second goal. He couldn’t mark both Adi and Nagbe but he also ended up marking neither. On the third goal he committed a deadly sin for a center back, he went up field to challenge Wallace for a ball and missed it, and that led directly to the third goal. But without his presence on the field Portland would’ve seen even more shots. A couple of his tackles whiffed, but that’s due more to the sheer number of tackles made than and incompetence on his part.

Chad Marshall – 6 –  Really should’ve stepped up to help Azira out to mark Nagbe on the second goal. You could also argue that he should’ve stepped up to challenge Adi on the third but that’s really more of a great shot by Adi there than a mistake by Marshall. Other than those two instances Marshall was pretty dominant. Adi pushed him around at times but none of it was costly and Marshall came to others aid throughout the match.

Oneil Fisher – 4.5 – When Fisher was drafted this offseason the odds were long that he would see any MLS action. Games, travel, and injuries forced Schmid to start the youngster again. The decision was odd but Fisher played well by all accounts in Philadelphia so why not give him a shot? This game more than any showed how derby games affect players. The pressure increases and mistakes are amplified. losing the ball in your own half isn’t a swan song in most cases, but on Sunday it dealt the Sounders in twice. Fisher was involved in both incidents, and in general was running after the play too often. It is noteworthy that he that most most shots on the Sounders at three, but you expect more defensive work from your left back.

Marco Pappa – 4.5 – This was not a good game for the Guatemalan international. With Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins out the responsibility of running the offense fell to Pappa. It’s a role that he’s never had to fill before and one that he failed at against Portland. He was ineffective at springing runners and at times looked out of sync with the rest of the attack. In particular he seemed on a different page than Fisher as the two repeatedly turned the ball over due to a miscue on passing.

Micheal Azira – 5.5 – Azira actually had a fantastic match outside of two awful incidents. On the second goal his giveaway and inability to track back with Nagbe led to the Timber having enough time to find the open Adi. Zaire’s inability to hold on to the ball when trailing also led directly to the fourth goal as he was the third man back at that point. Because of those it’s tough to rate him that highly but those really were his only bad moments. Azia has started to demonstrate tenaciousness at center mid and continually won the ball back for the Sounders. With six tackles, four interceptions, and five clearences he shined in his defensive capabilities. He’s also started to show an ability to pick his head up and play the long ball. His performance on Sunday is overshadowed by the loss but the Ugandan is making a real push for starting time even when Alonso comes back, in my mind he’s already overtaken Gonzalo Pineda on the depth chart.

Gonzalo Pineda – 3.5 – In my eyes Pineda’s been waning for awhile now. When he’s fully rested and on his game he’s an above average center mid, but those scenarios are happening less and less. Coming back from injury I think the only reason Sigi Schmid gave him the nod was because of his tremendous big game experience. Pineda was absent on defense and far from a difference maker going forward. Yes he distributes, and he did that well on Sunday with 8.4% of  the total possession and yet noting to show for it. He was often behind the play and forced Azira into a full CDM role in order to cover.  As of right now he isn’t an impact player, and if you have to start a below average player it makes more sense to start a youngster who still has room to improve.

Andy Rose – (Off 69′) – 4.5 – Tasked with wide mid in Sigi’s 4-4-2 Rose failed to have a really impact on this game. He played a little more defensively than Pappa, but he also had a couple more bad touches. His limited impact on the game was why Sigi Schmid subbed him off early.

Chad Barrett (Off 60′) – 4.5 – Got into dangerous positions a couple of times, especially at the beginning of the second half during Seattle’s best 15 minutes. However, Barrett was unable to control the balls that did come his way, and otherwise made no impact on the game, not even a shot or a dispossession. He was coming off an injury so this isn’t indicative of any decline, he simply had a bad game. The main issue was that he couldn’t get any good service, and Barrett isn’t a guy that creates for himself.

Lamar Neagle (Off 82′) – 5 – The lone goal scorer for the Sounders. Other than that one moment though he played just as well as Barrett. At times he was isolated up top, but he still saw a lot more of the ball than Barrett and was dispossessed four times. Still he got a goal and another shot off as well as being the Sounders lone goal scoring threat on the night. For that he gets a five.

SUBSTITUTES

Andy Craven (On 60′) – 5.5 – In his first MLS appearance after being signed to the first team just three days prior Craven looked poised. While the limelight didn’t effect him, the lack of service did. Despite that he very nearly got on the scoreboard off of a Mears cross that was just barely in front of his diving head. His hustle off the ball and pressing late in the game, as well as his mistake free performance keep him at the 5.5 starting rating. His playing was refreshing and speed surprising. Look to see more of him if Seattle continues to struggle to score in the midst of absences.

Cristian Roldan (On 69′) – 5 – Just like Rose, there wasn’t a whole lot that Roldan did. He didn’t see much of the ball but also didn’t make any mistakes. But with 20 minutes in the game you should be able to make some sort of impact so he gets a five.

Darwin Jones (On 82′) – N/A – He was fast but that was about it. Even still there wasn’t enough to go off of since at that point in the match it was already over.