The Jibsheet

Sounders FC winger Miguel Montano expresses his frustration after missing a scoring opportuity in tge second half of play in a 4-0 loss to L.A. Galaxy

With a loss like that, it seems foolhardy to bother looking for positives. Sure, the Sounders probably had the better run of play in the first half, but they were once again unable to finish any of their opportunities. Basically, it all went bad on such a good day.A record crowd for a Sounders MLS match came to watch the league’s best team take on the green and blue squad, and what they witnessed was brutal.The Sounders were thumped by a primed Los Angeles Galaxy 4-0 on Saturday afternoon. Their captain, Landon Donovan, would be referred to as smug postgame if it weren’t for the dominant result.“We know we’re the better team,” Donovan said flatly.
In a growing theme among Seattle’s spring and summer sports teams, the Sounders lack the final execution. Despite long stretches of possession and varying scoring opportunities, the Sounders could not finish once Saturday. Sounders midfielder Freddie Ljungberg battled through a long day he called “embarrassing” afterward.The first goal? Donovan elegantly sent a racing Jovan Kirovski who whistled a shot at Kasey Keller. Keller was able to get two hands on the ball, but it pushed through his grasp and into the goal. Los Angeles took a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute.
“Unfortunately I made a mistake and put the team a goal down and we didn’t recover from it,” Keller said. “Some days you have to hold your hand up and say sorry about that. It moved and I didn’t react in time, simple as that.”The second goal? Donovan looped in a corner kick that Omar Gonzalez finished with his head. The goal in the 52nd minute was the beginning of a second half slaughtering from Los Angeles.The third goal for Donovan? He swung in a distant free kick and Sounders midfielder Pete Vagenas whiffed on a heading attempt. Behind him, a diving Todd Dunivant did not. The Los Angeles defender dove parallel to the ground, sending any Sounders hopes into the bright spring sun in the 57th minute.
“The third goal was inexcusable,” Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. “It skipped past two guys. You have to not hope that someone else will do what you’re supposed to.”The fourth goal? Donovan decided to do it himself. The 2009 MLS MVP pulled a long one-two with the league’s leading scorer, Edson Buddle, who hustled up the right sideline, kept the ball inbounds, and zipped a cross into the box. Donovan snuck inside Jhon Kenendy Hurtado, and put the ball away in the 67th minute.“On the fourth goal, we were ducks in a shooting gallery,” Schmid said.
The Los Angeles captain finished with three assists, a goal, and an early exit.
“We can play better,” Donovan said. “If we’re a little better later in the game, we could have had five or six.”Seattle legs seemed weary toward the end, knowing a 4-0 deficit was not going to be altered. That is another issue for the coach to deal with.“They have to believe in themselves and learn how to transfer that belief into effort,” Schmid said. “Not pleased with the effort when we were three goals down.
Have to show character and say if we’re going down, go down swinging and get a couple goals. Some had that attitude and some phoned it in.”The Sounders are now 13 points out of first place and just two out of the bottom of the conference.
They even lost midfield hero Osvaldo Alonso to a quad injury midway through the first half.“Either we go into a shell or we wake up and get better,” Keller said. “There is some good character on this team and I can’t see a reason why we can’t bounce back and get better.”
Changes appear to be on the horizon.“We compete for spots every week,” Schmid said. “I’ve given some guys a longer leash than others. That leash just tore today.”
All in all, we all saw the same patterns we’ve been seeing for weeks now. With no result after endless opportunities, uneven calls from the officials, and no real effort to succeed from the Sounder’s squad, the Sounders lose to LA 4-0 at Qwest Field.