SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (May 5, 2018) — Another scoreless draw has plagued Seattle Sounders FC.
The Sounders hosted Columbus Crew SC at CenturyLink Field Saturday. The 90-minute match showed the Sounders struggles in finishing plays and unsuccessful shots.
Seattle took 17 shots in total while Columbus only took five.
Seattle Sounders FC Play to 0-0 Tie Against Columbus Crew SC
Despite the total shots, Crew SC goalkeeper Zack Steffen didn’t have a busy night. Only one Sounder shot, from Clint Dempsey, was on target and saved by Steffen.
Meanwhile, Stefan Frei saved opportunities from Héctor Jiménez and Gyasi Zardes.
After the match, Schmetzer said that the performance “wasn’t good enough.”
“I’ll make sure that we watch this tape and work on attacking movements to try and break that final line and be a little more creative,” Schmetzer said. “We moved the ball too slow. The few times they moved the ball into our end of the field and we won possession of the ball, we need to sprint.”
“We need to get down the field before they get a chance to get bunkered in.”
Sounders FC forward Will Bruin said the team was “too predictable.”
“We didn’t even try to play through the final third,” Bruin said. “I think everybody in the stadium knew we were going to try and push it wide and try to cross it. You’ve got to find other ways to create chances. We just haven’t been able to do it. We’ve got to be willing to take chances.”
“We need to find a solution to this.”
6️⃣0️⃣ career @MLS shutouts for @Stefan24Frei! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/9ZCkDFHUGq
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) May 5, 2018
Three Takeaways
- Seattle needs to learn to capitalize: The Sounders were given three points on a silver platter when Pedro Santos was given an instant red card in the 15th minute. However, the team couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage.
- Possession is good, but the shots need to be on goal: Having 17 shots is good, but only having one shot on goal is not good enough. Seattle had five corner kicks and couldn’t produce on any of them. Something needs to change, even if Schmetzer needs to bench some players.
- Next week won’t be easy: Toronto FC is the next opponent for the Sounders. While, yes, it’s a rematch of the previous two MLS Cups, this is a completely different Sounders team — and not in a good way. Either Seattle gets their act together, or they’re going to get steam-rolled.
First home start for @kihee4. 👏 #SEAvCLB pic.twitter.com/wVCKTDORjY
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) May 6, 2018
