Dempsey’s return not enough as Sounders fall to Galaxy 1-0

Published 5:00 pm Saturday, July 9, 2016

SEATTLE — Clint Dempsey was supposed to be the sheriff, riding back into town atop his sturdy steed with a white hat perched atop his head, ready to set things right again in Seattle Sounders county.

But not even the return of their star forward could shake the Sounders from their malaise.

Seattle continued to fire blanks despite Dempsey’s presence, and the Sounders fell 1-0 to their nemesis, the Los Angeles Galaxy, on Saturday afternoon at CenturyLink Field.

Seattle had a big advantage in just about every statistical category, and the Sounders created no end of dangerous situations around the LA penalty box, particularly in the second half. But it didn’t result in a goal, which meant Robbie Keane’s 15th-minute strike was enough for the Galaxy.

“All you can ask of your team is to create chances,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. “You can ask them to fight and battle, to work hard, to work smart for each other, to help each other out as teammates and make them better, and we did all that. But we came away with nothing, we came away with a goose egg. It’s frustrating, but I always feel strongly that if we continue to do that it’ll turn around.”

The Sounders need things to turn around in a hurry. Saturday’s game marked the midway point of the MLS season for Seattle, and the Sounders find themselves in dead last in the 10-team Western Conference. This is uncharted territory for a franchise that’s never missed the playoffs in its eight-year history.

And the lack of goals has turned into a crisis. The Sounders scored just 14 goals in their 17 games, which is the fewest in the league. Saturday was just the latest example of Seattle’s inability to finish as the Sounders had big advantages in possession (61.6 percent), shots (22-7, including 15-2 in the second half) and corners (9-4), yet failed to find the back of the net.

Dempsey’s return was supposed to help. Dempsey hadn’t played for the Sounders since May 21 because of his time with the U.S. national team at Copa America, where he was the team’s star performer with three goals and three assists as the U.S. marched to a fourth-place finish. He had his moments Saturday, but like the rest of the team he was unable to convert his chances, the best coming from tight quarters late in the second half when he put his shot off the outside of the post.

“We’re working our butts off,” Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei said. “It’s just not clicking for us. We’re not finding the back of the net. We’re creating tons of chances, I would argue we’re creating more chances per game than we did last year. Unfortunately, we’re missing a bit of class where we can finish those chances.

“We always know that at some point it’s got turn,” Frei continued. “We just need to keep working hard and believing in each other and in ourselves.”

One person who doesn’t struggle with finishing chances is Keane. The Galaxy star and Ireland’s all-time leading goal-scorer had his moment in the 15th minute and he didn’t waste it. LA moved the ball quickly down the left, with Gyasi Zardes’ turn on Dave Romney’s pass leaving Seattle defender Zach Scott dead in his tracks. Zardes raced toward goal and played a centering pass toward Keane, who finished with a shot off the underside of the crossbar to make it 1-0.

Seattle had all kinds of possession in LA’s territory in the second half, but a moment in the 53rd minute summed up the Sounders’ predicament. A long ball over the top set Jordan Morris free, and Morris was able to win the ball away from Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe at the top of the penalty box. But with Rowe out of the picture, LA defender A.J. DeLaGarza raced to the goal line and somehow made an acrobatic block of Morris’ shot to deflect it for a corner.

Even an open goal is giving Seattle trouble these days.

Quick kicks

Seattle played without its captain, central defender Brad Evans. Evans was listed as questionable coming into the game because of a left calf strain. … The Galaxy were without two of their high-profile players. Former Netherlands international midfielder Nigel de Jong was suspended following his tackle that resulted in a a red card during Monday’s 2-0 home victory over Vancouver. Former England international left back Ashley Cole was out with an undisclosed injury.