SEATTLE — Marco Pappa’s pass, a brief moment of soccer perfection, split the entire New England Revolution defense, springing Obafemi Martins for a one-on-one chance at goal. But rather than finish the type of chance he has scored countless times before, the Sounders forward played an easy pass to a wide open Clint Dempsey, who walked the ball into an open net.
It was Dempsey’s second goal of the night and the Seattle Sounders’ third in a 3-0 season-opening victory over the New England at CenturyLink Field. And that moment of brilliance, along with the zero on the Revolution side of the scoreboard, also served as a reminder of just how potent this Sounders team can be if it is firing on all cylinders in 2015.
Sunday’s game was just 1 of 34, the beginning of an eight-month marathon, but it was certainly a pretty good way to kick off a season for Seattle.
A new-look defense, featuring a new right fullback, Tyrone Mears, and a career midfielder, Brad Evans, playing center back for the first time as a professional, shut out the Revolution without conceding much in the way of dangerous chances.
A midfield missing its most important player, Osvaldo Alonso, held up just fine. And perhaps most significantly, the best forward duo in the league — Martins and Dempsey — was more than New England’s defense could handle, accounting for all three goals and a pair of assists between them.
“It’s everything we wanted today,” said goalkeeper Stefan Frei, who was called upon to make just one save, but came through with what coach Sigi Schmid described as a “world class save” to preserve a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute. “We were very convincing up top offensively — there were times where their defense didn’t know what to do with our strikers — three goals is awesome, and a shutout on top of that, it was a complete display offensively and defensively.”
Despite a lopsided score line, Seattle didn’t dominate from the opening whistle. New England, minus its best two players, Jermaine Jones and Lee Nguyen, who were both injured, had a bit more of the possession early, and neither team created much in the way of chances through the first 20 minutes.
Not coincidentally, the Sounders’ offense got going when the Dempsey-Martins partnership started clicking.
“I thought it took them a little bit of time to get into their rhythm, but then afterwards when they got into their rhythm, they were good,” Schmid said. “They’re just so dangerous individually, then collectively it makes it hard for center backs, because you’re not sure when to step up, who to step up to, because they take turns dropping into that hole.
The breakthrough for Seattle came in the 24th minute when Dempsey corralled a poor clearance attempt by the Revolution following a Seattle corner kick, then drew a penalty kick when he was fouled in the box by New England midfielder Juan Agudelo following a nifty spin move to split two defenders. Dempsey converted the penalty, and from there the Sounders’ dominance began.
Later in the half, Dempsey found Mears on the right flank, and Mears, Seattle’s only new starter this season, lofted a perfect cross into the box, which the 5-foot-7 Martins headed into the net after elevating above two New England defenders.
Martins could have probably added a second goal in the 67th minute, but instead went the unselfish route, laying a pass off to Dempsey for an easy goal.
Those two helped start the buildup to that goal with a give-and-go at midfield, setting up Pappa’s precision pass to Martins.
“I love playing with Oba,” Dempsey said. “He’s one of the players who I have enjoyed playing with the most in my career. It reminds me of being a kid, like playing pickup style. (We) think alike, you know that if you make the right move, he’s going to find you. He makes players around him better. I enjoy playing with him, and hopefully we can do this season what we did last season.”
Dempsey and Martins playing well together is hardly a new phenomenon — they combined to score 32 goals and dish out 23 assists last year.
But it’s a very encouraging sign for Seattle that they opened the season this way, especially considering that unlike last year, Dempsey won’t be pulled away for national team duty for a World Cup.
The Sounders have a long, long ways to go to accomplish any of their 2015 goals, but Sunday night, and the magic between Dempsey and Martins in particular, were a good start.
“The two of them, the stuff they pull off is unique and special,” Schmid said. “Our fans are seeing something unique and special when they see them play together.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com
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