Two years ago I was getting on an airplane when there were a couple of minutes left to play and I never found out the result until I got to London. For the 2010 final I was at Royal Brougham Park and the atmosphere was incredible.
Last night I was back at RBP and I think that was the loudest I’ve ever seen the place. From kickoff through to showing the cup off after the final whistle it never stopped.
For a supporter big nights under the lights with something important on the line don’t come along very often, and when they do walking into the stadium feels a little more special. Last night was outstanding. We were treated to two teams that wanted to win the 2011 US Open Cup. No negative tactics from either side, no hanging on for a draw and a referee that let the game flow.
Even better, it was a really good game, and that only added to the night. Either side could have won it. Had Chicago come out on top it would have capped a huge turn around from their awful beginning of the season.
Last year against Columbus I felt pretty sure Seattle were going to win it, I really could see no other outcome to the game. This year it was different, this looked harder. Two sides showing good recent form and perhaps with one eye on the playoffs Seattle were distracted.
The longer the game went scoreless the tougher it was. Chicago had their chances to nick a goal and
First goal came from a corner with about 20 minutes left to play. Parke forced a great one handed save from the Chicago keeper, but the rebound fell to Montero who calmly slotted it home from two feet out. The perfect poacher’s goal.
Four minutes into stoppage time the Sounders put the game away. Osvaldo Alonso dribbled past four defenders, rounded the keeper and side footed it into the net. It was a fantastic finish from arguably the best player on the field.
Seconds after the restart the whistle blew for full time and the party really got going.
That’s three straight open cups… Undefeated in this competition for the last three years… And lets not forget the USL Sounders made it to the semi finals the two years before, defeating four MLS sides during those runs).
Seattle has an ownership that takes this trophy seriously. And a coaching staff that built depth, and rests players when they need too, despite playing twice a week (with a horrendous travel schedule in the last 10 days).
If you were there you were part of a wonderful night of sports. If you missed out, maybe we can all do it again next year?
We’ve won the Cascadia Cup (hello Ben, Tony, various Tabors and so on), we’ve won the Open Cup, advanced in the Champions League and secured a play off place. It’s been an incredible season by any definition of the word, now it’s time focus on the big one.
It’s 46 days to the MLS cup final in LA, can Seattle win it? With the way they are playing now, they have a chance. Who ever wins this thing is going to have to go through the LA Galaxy at some point. LA is not a team Seattle had a good time against in the past, but if you are going to change that streak, the Western Conference Final would be a good time.
Related articles
- MLS Spotlight: Durable Parke embracing heavy workload for Sounders (soccerbyives.net)
- US Open Cup Expected To Get New Format In 2012 (wvhooligan.com)
- No headline – sounders_matchday_102211 (kitsapsun.com)
- Plenty of positives for Sounders in season that ended too soon (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
1 Comment
The crowd was incredible, it kept going all the way through the trophy ceremony. What a night and Ozzie was man of the match and he was always there anytime they started to build up an attack.