It was another hard fought match on Saturday between the Seattle Sounders and their bitter rivals from the south, the Portland Timbers.
Eddie Johnson gave the Sounders an early lead in the 13th minute off of a beautiful cross from Steve Zakuani. It remained 1-0 until the 91st minute. Portland managed to break through with just a couple minutes left in stoppage time. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, which felt more like a loss for the Sounders and a win for the Timbers.
Aside from the goals, arguably the biggest moment came in the 70th minute when Sounders’ new designated player, Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins, subbed into the match. It had only been 24 hours since he stepped off the plane from Europe. This was the first time he’d ever played with his new team – 70 minutes into one of the bigger matches on the schedule.
There were a few moments where hints of his speed and talent were detectable. None clearer, though, than in the 80th minute when he streaked down the left side of the penalty area onto a beautifully weighted pass from Steve Zakuani and just missed finding Eddie Johnson running into the six yard box. It was just a teaser of what’s to come between the two strikers as they get more playing time together.
OK, I know I don’t usually do this much “analysis” in my blog posts (I prefer to leave that to the professional writers), but I just had to cover one more topic – Steve Zakuani. Every match he’s been looking more and more like the pre-injury Zakuani. Tonight was once again no exception. He was blowing past defenders the whole night – including when he assisted on EJ’s goal. The thought of the speed of Eddie Johnson, Obafemi Martins, and Steve Zakuani has me very excited to see what happens for the rest of the season.
Alright, alright, it’s photo time…
Image 41 of this set is a classy, classic photo that I think really exemplifies the Seattle-Portland rivalry.