A Clint Dempsey brace was the exclamation mark at the end of the Seattle Sounders ( 9-7-7) 4-0 statement win over Minnesota United FC (6-13-4) Saturday night in Minnesota. The Rave Green win over MUFC was one of those rare moments where the game plan was perfectly executed by the players.
After last Saturday’s lackluster 0-0 tie against the LA Galaxy in LA, Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer was determined to make sure that his team was ready to play when the whistle blew and stayed in attack mode. The Sounders needed to start the game on the front foot and stay on the front foot throughout the match. Schmetzer’s message to the team needed no translation.
This was a must win game. Minnesota was in tenth place in the 11 team Western Conference and where giving up a league high 45 goals and was without top goal scorer Christian Ramirez. Schmetzers strategy was simple. Push the Sounder forward up the field and put pressure on the home sides backline.
The high pressure on the MNUTD resulted in a Wil Bruin goal just ten minutes into the game. Seattle’s high pressure caused another Minnesota mistake in the 18th minute leading to Clint Dempsey first of two goals.
“Yeah, it felt good. We still could, you know, sharpen up and we could have had a few more – I could have had a few more. ” Dempsey said after the game.”We gave away too many balls tonight, though, that led to counter-attacks. But we did well once we got through the line of pressure. Then we were able to open the game up and be a little bit more clinical in the final third.”
Jordan Morris joined the scoring party in the 71st minutes and Dempsey scored his second goal of the game in the 73rd minute as the Sounders finished one of their most complete games of the season.
.@JmoSmooth13 with his third goal of the year! #MINvSEA pic.twitter.com/h8TGptB0Sp
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) August 6, 2017
The Sounders are undefeated in five MLS games and are now in fourth place in the Western Conference. The Rave Green have recorded three straight clean sheets and have not allowed a goal in 310 minutes.
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