Going into yesterday's match against the league's hottest (or perhaps second-hottest, or even more perhaps tied-for-hottest) club — the Seattle Sounders — things looked a bit dreary and doomtastic. Once we scored, things were looking up a bit. We were making exciting runs up front, we were standing firm in the midfield, and our defense was looking generally solid.
We even snagged a cheeky goal when Fabian Espindola laid off a brilliant cross to complete Saborio's bursting run and Mr. Sweatpants himself Kasey Keller managed to get a good hand on the cross and ... put it into the net. Yes, he just sort of pushed the ball into his own net and that was that. Twelve minutes gone and the Claret and Cobalt held a very respectable lead.
But then things all got a bit pear-shaped: In the 35th minute, Tony Beltran was sent off for receiving his second yellow of the night for a foul that was at best an innocuous challenge, and the first being much in the same vein. It was unfortunate at best, but the referee (and what a referee!) made an even bigger mess of things when he sent off Seattle's Jhon Kennedy Hurtado for putting his arm into the face of Alvaro Saborio. Saborio, quite reasonably, went down (accusations of diving should be checked at the door, please!) and Hurtado was quickly shown a card. For but four terrifying moments, we were left a man down, but referee Mark Kadlecik solved that problem quite quickly.
Before moving on, a word about the refereeing is necessary. Not one word, I mean, but a series of words. I suppose it could be best described as amateurish, as it was full of simple mistakes and very, very odd calls. Corners were given instead of goal kicks, goal kicks were given instead of corners, throw-ins were given in the wrong direction, fouls were given to the wrong players, and for one maddening moment, Tony Beltran was even given two yellow cards without the red card. Yes, an assistant (presumably) and several of the Sounders players pointed out the error of Kadlecik's ways and Tony was subsequently sent off. It was the most bizarre, awful refereeing performance. If he were a student of the trade and I were a professor, I'd fail him right away and eject him from the institution. Let's keep this in mind, too: He also refereed the return match at the Rio Tinto when Seattle smashed our undefeated home record into bits, and in that match, he showed Olave a flabbergasting red. How he refereed both of these matches is beyond me — and how he's still getting picked is even more so.
At any rate, Seattle managed to tie it up early in the second half and things got quite tense for the remainder of the match. It didn't take long for our boys to bring things back into Claret and Cobalt-colored parity, Alvaro Saborio scoring an excellent solo goal after what seemed like an eternity of dallying in the box — he even took a blocked shot or two before getting off that final strike. It was a terrific moment, but things weren't over there.
No, from there we were faced with 35 minutes of defending, but we were both boosted and hurt by the presence of Chris Schuler in the precarious left back slot. It was great having another presence on corners, free kicks and crosses, and Chris did well in the face of those. A quick glance at his positioning and defensive acts on the chalkboards shows a very efficient performance, and while we lost the mobility and attacking ability of Tony Beltran, for our situation, Chris Schuler was perfectly suited to put in a good performance.
Robbie Russell was statistically solid but somehow managed to give up a penalty (from, uh, outside the box, according to Opta data) when his legs tangled with a Seattle player (I don't remember who it was, and I've not done a solid rewatch yet. Even then, I probably won't remember unless I'm told.) and the referee got a bit whistle-happy (as he was throughout the match.) It was at best a very, very soft foul outside the box, but the referee had made his mind up. Thankfully, Rosales missed his penalty, sending it wide with Nick Rimando diving (well, I might add) in the opposite direction.
At the back, we also got a full 90 minutes of the Borlave Experience. This might be better told through numbers:
• Borchers and Olave, in combination, commited zero (ZERO!) fouls, made 14 clearances, 8 recoveries, and conceded 4 corners. They also made 5 interceptions and 5 blocks.
• Excepting Robbie Russell's one foul, which led to that odd penalty, the second half back four conceded no fouls.
The midfield was solid, and we saw a very fine performance from Andy Williams, who was as good as he's been in months. He lasted all 90 minutes without issue, passed efficiently, and tracked back with the utmost devotion to the cause. Luis Gil (taken off as a tactical substitution at the half for Chris Schuler) looked reasonable but hadn't had much time on the ball, and Will Johnson made the most of his appearance by slotting in at the back after Tony was sent off, then by remaining defensively solid as Seattle knocked on the door. Ned Grabavoy came in late and was efficient, helping to keep the scoreline in RSL's favor, and our captain Kyle Beckerman shielded well and looked more mobile than I've seen him in months. Still, we were out of possession for much of the match and should have done better to retain the ball at times.
Up front, Espindola and Saborio made their contributions through the two goals but could have done more, getting into great positions and making good runs but lacking a bit of the killer edge. Paulo Jr. made a late appearance, pressing well late on and helping to return possession to RSL.
Nick Rimando made some brilliant saves, too — that can't be forgotten – including one from a shot that spectacularly smashed into his face from but yards out. Does Opta count that as a save? I somehow doubt it. At any rate, Nick kept us in the match and was as brilliant as ever. What would we do in these situations without him?
Any problems we encountered we resolved, and while the match was sometimes hanging on a thread, we gathered three vital points as we move forward in our quest for an automatic playoff spot or, optimistically, the Supporters' Shield. It'll be a tough run, but if we do the necessary work and have a bit of luck, we could find ourselves exactly where we thought we could be at the beginning of the season.
So let's get to that, shall we? The season's ours for the taking.
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