The Sounders came out on top 1-0 against Cascadia rivals Portland Timbers on Sunday. Eddie Johnson scored the lone goal of the game, finding the back of the net off a Mauro Rosales costless kick in the 60th minute. The match was a back and forth affair with both sides very attack minded. Portland had the first of a few chances with a through ball played from Valeri to Ryan Johnson but Gspurning came out with the stop. The Timbers best chance came in the 34th minute when Valeri tried to curl one around Gspurning but it rocked off the post. Gspurning did not have to do much work till the dying embers of the match when Portland kept attacking the Sounders goal.
The win puts the Sounders back in playoff position with 37 points as the Timbers remain at 39. The Timbers travel to Rio Tinto Stadium to take on the in form Real Salt Lake, while Seattle travels to Columbus to face the Crew. Real Salt Lake are coming off a 4-0 win vs. the Crew.
Portland Timbers Player Grades:
Donovan Ricketts 7.0 - Had a pretty solid performance but had a few blunders that could have been bad.
Alvas Powell 7.5 - Good performance, looked flat at times but always seemed to get back.
Michael Harrington 8.0 - Won most of the balls played in from crosses, kept the backline in tact.
Pa-Modou Kah 4.0 - Horrible performance, his reckless tackle cost his team the game. Could have been sent off with challenges 2 or 3 times.
Andrew Jean-Baptiste 7.5 - Was great when he attacked but at times seemed like he forgot to get back and help his team out.
Jack Jewsbury 6.0 - Looked like he was going with the motions at times.
Darlington Nagbe 8.5 - Had a great game, was always apart of the attack when they moved forward and beat the Sounder back line at times with his pace.
Rodney Wallace 7.0 - Put in a solid performance as his team but had to defend more then he pleased.
Kalif Alhassan 7.5 - Had a few shots on goal for the Timbers and controlling the midfield at times
Diego Valeri 9.0 - Another outstanding performance by Valeri. Had Timbers best chance on goal but just could grind out a win.
Ryan Johnson 8.5 - The hour he was on he held the ball and moved great with a couple shots on goal.
SUBS
Jose Adolfo Valencia 7.0 - Could have had more of an impact if he started.
Sal Zizzo N/A - Wasn’t on long enough to review
Ben Zemanski N/A - Wasn’t on long enough to review
Seattle Sounders Player Grades:
Michael Gspurning 10.0 - Easily the Man of the Match; had very important saves.
Zach Scott 6.0 - Looked very flat, was beat almost every time.
Leo Gonzalez 7.0 - Kept his position well and didn’t attack much.
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado 8.0 - Great performance and kept the back line in check.
DeAndre Yedlin 9.0 - With a goal saving clearance in the early moments of the match he put out a solid performance.
Sharlie Joseph 5.5 - Was a step slow at times, lost the ball when had good run of possession at times.
Osvaldo Alonso 9.0 - Bossed around the midfield with keeping Valeri quiet most of the match.
Brad Evans 8.0 - Was more attack minded this game and got back when needed.
Lamar Neagle 8.5 - Was great on the wing and a threat the whole match.
Clint Dempsey 7.5 - Timbers did a good job keeping him out of the match but when had the ball picked out the perfect passes and had a handful of shots.
Eddie Johnson 9.5 - Stole the show with a 60th minute goal. Rosales and EJ are lethal when on the field together.
SUBS
Mauro Rosales 9.5 - Was only on 34 minutes, but in those 34 minutes he changed the whole game.
Djimi Traore N/A - Wasn’t on long enough to review.
Servando Carrasco N/A - Wasn’t on long enough to review.