Seattle Sounders: Clint Dempsey Clinches First Win of Season (Video)
By Paul Taylor
Clint Dempsey’s towering header secures the Seattle Sounders first points of the season, as they beat the Montreal Impact 1-0.
The Seattle Sounders game against the Montreal Impact was not exactly a thing of beauty. However, the fans won’t care, as the Rave Green finally picked up their first win of the 2016 campaign.
There were probably a lot of concerned people inside CenturyLink Field, as Saturday’s game took on a similar pattern to the previous three. After dominating early on, the Sounders became more tentative and eased off in the second half.
However, the script finally turned around in Seattle’s favor, as they beat the Impact 1-0. Almost as if ordained, it was Clint Dempsey who came to the rescue:
The game-winner capped off an excellent week for Dempsey, who also scored for the US national team against Guatemala. The header against Montreal was his first goal of the season for the Sounders.
Sigi Schmid moved the 33-year old to central midfield for Saturday’s game, in an attempt to get him more involved. Certainly, the result seems to indicate it was the correct tactical move by the Sounders head coach, who was just happy to get the win.
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Speaking to the media, Schmid said: “Sometimes when you’re in a little bit of a bad run like we were in the first three games and things aren’t going your way, sometimes the first one that goes your way is a little bit of a squeaky bum one.”
As for Dempsey, he doesn’t mind where he plays, as he told the media after the game: “Whatever position allows me to get touches in the attacking third, that’s the position I like the most.”
Overall though, the former eight overall MLS SuperDraft pick was relieved to pick up three points, and predicts more from his team moving forward: “It was good to finally get that win, and I think you’ll start to see the boys get a little bit more confident.”
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What did you make of the Sounders performance against the Impact? Are you convinced the team is now back on track, or are you still concerned? Let us know in the comments section below.