Clint Dempsey sent a 77' shot past keeper Adam Kwarasey to drive Seattle Sounders to victory against Portland Timbers Sunday night. The goal came off the rebound from a Kwarasey save on Andy Rose's shot right in front of the line. Dempsey just tapped the ball into the net for the eventual game-winner.
This match played out just as expected in this heated MLS rivalry between Sounders and Timbers, as the game was a scoreless defensive battle for the first 76 minutes of soccer. Seattle put up 3 shots on goal, and Portland put 2, and each goalkeeper had 2 saves; the extra shot proved to be Sounders' winner. This match was evidently even, as Seattle only controlled the possession battle by a 51-49 advantage and each team was doled out 2 yellow cards, so no lead was taken through penalty or misconduct.
Jorge Villafaña was shown the yellow in 23' for Portland. Then, a 53' yellow card was given to Marco Pappa of Sounders, followed by Osvaldo Alonso's yellow in 54' for Seattle. In 71' for Timbers, Liam Ridgewell was shown the yellow as well.
Portland had their fair share of chances in this one, as they actually struck one more shot in this game than Seattle; they won the shots category 11-10 over Sounders. Two second-half headers by Fanendo Adi just nearly missed, one sailing wide left of the net from point blank range in 75', the other hitting the crossbar in 81'. Timbers also received 2 shots from Maximiliano Urruti.
The crowd at CenturyLink Field was pumping all Sunday night, and went berzerk as Dempsey put in the late winner.
Keeper Stefan Frei and the Seattle back line recorded another stellar shutout versus Timbers, earning their fourth clean-sheet of the young MLS season. That leaves Seattle tied atop the league in shutouts.
Sounders had their fair share of scoring chances in this match as well, striking 10 shots, and 3 on goal. Marco Pappa struck 3 shots, and Obafemi Martins and Lamar Neagle each attempted 2. Neagle had his first half stoppage time shot incredibly saved by Kwarasey, and Martins had multiple chances to score in or directly outside the box.
In this matchup, Seattle have now won four straight matches including all competitions, and now improve to 4-2-1 in MLS play, good for 3rd in MLS's Western Conference. Sounders are 3 points behind leaders Vancouver. Portland drop to 2-3-3.