SEATTLE, Wash. - Clint Dempsey scored in the second half and Jermain Defoe netted a first-half brace as Seattle Sounders FC (1-1-0, 3 points) fell, 2-1, to Toronto FC (1-0-0, 3 points) on Saturday afternoon on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.
Toronto FC opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Jonathan Osorio played a through ball to Defoe at the top of the box. Defoe got behind the Seattle defense and finished a low right-footed shot past Stefan Frei.
Defoe added his second goal of the match in the 24th minute when he collected a giveaway at midfield and beat Frei with a right-footed shot.
Dempsey pulled one back for Seattle in the 68th minute. Lamar Neagle played a ball down the sideline to Obafemi Martins, who collected it and found Dempsey at the top of the box. Dempsey fired a right-footed shot from the center of the box for his first goal of the 2014 regular season.
Dempsey has scored (1) or assisted (1) in the first two games of the season, and scored his first club goal in the 2013 regular-season finale.
Seattle nearly scored in the 53rd minute when Dylan Remick raced down the left flank and found Martins in the box. Martins turned and fired a shot on goal that Julio Cesar saved with his foot.
Martins had another dangerous opportunity seven minutes later when Marco Pappa played him into the box with a backheel pass, but Martins' attempt was stopped by Cesar.
Frei made two saves against his former team, including a leaping stop on Alvaro Rey's shot in the 27th minute.
Brad Evans suffered a calf injury in the 15th minute and was replaced by Gonzalo Pineda in the 29th minute, marking his MLS debut.
Sounders FC visits the Montreal Impact for the first road match of the season on Saturday, March 22. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT at Olympic Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
TOR - Jermain Defoe (Jonathan Osorio) 17'
TOR - Jermain Defoe 24'
SEA - Clint Dempsey (Obafemi Martins) 68'
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei, DeAndre Yedlin, Chad Marshall, Djimi Traore, Dylan Remcik, Lamar Neagle (Chad Barrett 79'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans (Gonzalo Pineda 29'), Marco Pappa (Kenny Cooper 66'), Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins.
Substitutes Not Used: Marcus Hahnemann, Jalil Anibaba, Andy Rose, Sean Okoli.
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Dempsey, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (2 players, 1); FOULS: 15 (6 players, 2); OFFSIDE: 3 (Neagle, 2); CORNER KICKS: 5 (2 players, 2); SAVES: 2 (Frei, 2).
Toronto FC - Julio Cesar, Mark Bloom, Steven Caldwell, Doneil Henry, Justin Morrow, Alvaro Rey (Bradley Orr 65'), Michael Bradley, Jonathan Osorio, Jackson (Ashtone Morgan 93'), Jermain Defoe, Dwayne De Rosario (Andrew Weideman 63')
Substitutes Not Used: Joe Bendik, Kyle Bekker, Nick Hagglund, Ryan Richter
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (2 players, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Defoe, 2); FOULS: 25 (2 players, 5); OFFSIDE: 1 (Wiedeman, 1); CORNER KICKS: 5 (Bradley, 5); SAVES: 1 (Cesar, 1).
Misconduct Summary:
TOR - Alvaro Rey (caution) 63'
SEA - Osvaldo Alonso (caution) 70'
TOR - Justin Morrow (caution) 78'
TOR - Julio Cesar (caution) 83'
Referee: Ioannis Stavrides
Referee's Assistants: Kyle Longville; Andrew Bigelow
4th Official: Bernard Hosu
Attendance: 38,441
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Cloudy and 60-degrees
All statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial
Sigi Schmid - Sounders FC Head Coach
(On his thoughts on the result...) "[We're] obviously disappointed, especially since we gave up two goals that were really soft. We gave them two gifts. The first was at a time when [Brad] Evans was off injured and wasn't back on the field-we didn't cover the position, so that's our fault. We didn't do that well. The second one was a bad back pass. It went right to him. Obviously when you're going to do that against a good player like [Jermain] Defoe, and give him two good looks on goal, he is going to show you he is a good player and he did. I thought the majority of the game we carried the game. Their danger was off counters or off steals, but we hurt ourselves because we created those opportunities by playing too many square passes when we needed to go forward with it. Too many passes went back and it put us in a hole. We had enough chances in the second half to equalize the game."
(On another physical game...) "[The opposition] can't keep averaging 25 fouls against us every game. It's one way that disrupts the rhythm of play a little bit, when teams are fouling us that much. If you add that up for a whole season I don't know if it's a team record for us or for any team in the league to get fouled that often. Certainly there were quite a few fouls."
(On the team's second half performance...) "I thought we came out in the second half and carried it to them. I thought we played to win. I thought our attitude was good. I thought some of our guys lifted their game-I thought (Obafemi Martins) lifted his game, I thought (Lamar) Neagle was better in the second half than the first, and Clint (Dempsey) began to see the ball more. From that standpoint I thought it was good. How you deal with adversity is what defines your character. Today was a little bit of adversity and we put ourselves into that situation, and now we have to come back from that."
(On Gonzalo Pineda filling in for Brad Evans...) "I thought Gonzalo did well for us. Obviously he is still new to the team a little bit. He still needs to gain a bit on his fitness, but I thought his passing today helped us. His vision is good. We felt he was the right guy to go with because we felt there was space to play, and we were possessing the ball, so we thought that was the right decision. Brad got kicked in the calf-it is pretty black, blue, and swollen, so obviously he couldn't continue."
(On Brad Evans' injury...) "We will get a better response over the next day or two and see how he responds to treatment. "
(On the positioning up top...) "We felt that we could get the ball forward so we went with (Marco) Pappa in that slot on the right hand side, and we felt that (Lamar) Neagle could stretch their defense on the left because he has the ability to do that. For the first 15, 20 minutes of the game I felt we were doing that. We were having some success. There were too many times when we got the ball behind their midfield line, but we didn't get the ball behind their back four. That's when we went back to square instead of going forward, and that's something we will work on and get better with."
(On game tactics...) "Our tactics were that we wanted (Marco) Pappa tucked in on the right and we wanted (Lamar) Neagle to be high and wide on the left. Those were our tactics going into the game and I think we had the better of the run-play. We had the tactics that I thought were working, but we didn't convert them into goals."
(On creating chances...) "All we can do is create chances and try to convert the chances you create. I think we created chances, enough chances to win the game, but you're happy that there is some good soccer that we played, but unhappy with the turnovers we gave and really unhappy with the fact we didn't deal well with the situation when Brad (Evans) was off the field injured. I think that is something we have to deal with better."
(On Toronto's improvement...) "Obviously they are a better team. When you have players like (Michael) Bradley and (Jermain) Defoe, you're going to be a better team. But when you look at the game I think we carried the game, we possessed the ball, they were looking to counterattack [...] I don't know if they could play week in, week out and be on the wrong side of possession, as they were today. When you have as much possession as we had, you've got to do a better job on converting final chances. They are certainly an improved team-Julio Cesar is a quality goalkeeper, Bradley certainly helps them as well, and Defoe is an experienced player."
(On Gonzalo Pineda's playing time in the future...) "We'll have to see. I thought the first 15, 20 minutes, we were good. Pineda wasn't on the field there and we carried the game to them. We felt that when Brad got injured, we needed to bring in a change and we felt that he was the guy who could help us keep playing the way we were playing."
Clint Dempsey - Sounders FC Midfielder
(On his first goal...) "It's bittersweet. It feels good to have contributed in a positive way, but at the same time we're not happy with the result. I thought we did a better job in the second half moving the ball. They kind of set back and we're trying to grind out the three points. I thought we created some good chances, we just weren't able to get the equalizer goal."
(On the loss...) "I mean it's frustrating, but at the same time you just have to learn from the mistakes that you make and try to keep pushing forward. We'll look at the tape, see the good things that we did well also and try to enforce that, but we'll work hard in this next week and make sure we get it right for Montreal."
(On Head Coach Sigi Schmid being pleased with the way the team came out in the second half...) "We were on the front foot. We were pushing to try to get something out of the game. We weren't just sitting back and accepting the situation of being down 2-0 and thinking we didn't have a chance. I thought we showed character, we kept fighting and pushing for the goal, and it looked like the equalizer was going to come. Unfortunately we weren't able to make it happen."
(On the opportunities to score...) "We just have to keep going, just try to be a little bit better in front of the goal, but at the same time we are creating chances and we're happy with that. We just have to keep going because if we look at the first two games we've scored in both and that's always good. We just have to try to do a better job with limiting the goals that we can see."
(On what it means getting his first goal of the season the second game in...) "I don't look at it like that. I keep the same mindset. I keep going out, working hard and trying to get as many goals as possible. Every game out I'm trying to score. Whether I score the game before, I'm always wanting to score or create chances and trying to put other people on to goals, get assists, and stuff like that. We just have to keep moving forward. So far I'm happy with the first two games in terms of getting a goal and an assist, but I have to keep pushing and there is more to come. We want to do more as a team and try to make a push to win the MLS Cup this year."
(On how hard is it to try to avoid getting frustrated after getting fouled so much in that game...) "I think everybody was getting frustrated. I think there were 21 fouls against us, 25? Yeah, 25. The game before that there were 25 so that's 50. I think from a fans perspective it's not fun to watch a game with that many stoppages, and also for the spectators at home watching the game. When you see it just being stop start stop start, foul, foul, foul it's definitely frustrating for everybody."
Stefan Frei - Sounders FC Goalkeeper
(On the game...) "I thought we did alright in the first 10, 15, 20 minutes or so. We got in behind them a couple times, controlled the game pretty well. They had some corners too, but nothing too fancy. We kind of gifted them two goals a little bit, some breakdowns and quick turnovers. The quality that they have, they were obviously going to take their chances. It's tough to trail two-zero at home, obviously, but coming in the second half we did well. I think we responded really well, found that goal with a decent amount of time on the clock. Unfortunately we weren't able to capitalize on a couple of chances late in the second half."
(On pressing all the way to the end...) "I think this is where character comes through-when the going's tough and it really matters. We really responded well. With that being said, we can't be going into half at home being down two-zero. We shouldn't put ourselves in that situation, so we don't have to dig out of that. It's something to build on. We have to show up and work hard on Monday for training and get ready for Montreal."
(On playing his former team...) "Honestly, just another game. Like I said, disappointed to not at least pick up a point. We were aiming for three points at home, obviously, so we have to put this one behind us, learn from it, and get ready for next week."
Obafemi Martins - Sounders FC Forward
(On the game...) "We conceded easy goals, so that was not a good sign at the start. But, you know, in the second half it was our job to try to score and equalize, but it wasn't easy today."
(On improving the attack in the second half...) "I think we just have to play more forward. That's what we need. Like I said in the preseason, they changed almost half of the players so we're getting to know each other. It'll be better soon."
Lamar Neagle - Sounders FC Forward
(On thoughts about the game...) "We just really had a slow start obviously we gave them a couple of goals. Towards the end of the game whenever you're down a couple of goals or down a goal you're going to be chasing. So we knew it was going to be crazy by the end of it, yeah it was definitely our game and we gave it to them."
(On how the team can recover from the loss...) " It's a long season and I think we know that, just because it's 1-1 it kind of looks pretty bad but obviously we don't want to lose at home, ever. But we know it's a long season and we know we got a game next weekend so can't really dwell on it too much, we can take away what we did wrong and those mistakes, but yeah we got another game against Montreal.
(On the goal...) "The ball popped out to Dempsey and I just opened up and he gave me a good pass, I waited for the defender to kind of commit and I saw Oba going down the line, so just played him down the line and they did the rest. Yeah Oba did Dempsey, and Dempsey did what he does."
Dylan Remick - Sounders FC Defender
(On playing his second home match...) " I mean, it feels good to play and obviously come out there again and play in front of our home fans. Unfortunately we didn't get the result we were wanting to, but sometimes that just the way it goes."
(On thoughts on game and how team can move on from lost...) "I thought we had really good moments throughout the entire match. I thought there were long stretches of play where we played really well and got good chances but there was that five to ten minutes where we as a team just mentally lapsed and they took advantage of it. They have players who aren't going to miss those chances but overall I thought we did some really good things and we just have to focus on staying mentally tough the entire game. Our goals will come we created some, got one and could have gotten three more. So its good strides, certainly not the end of the season so we just know what we have to work on its just a little wake up call."
(On the mindset while making late game surge...) "I think the team's mindset was just to do what we can to create chances, whether it's out wide, through the middle or up top. My mindset was just to do the exact same thing, trying get on the ball and put in some crosses; do whatever I could to get help get us back in the game and get those goals that we needed."
Ryan Nelsen - Toronto FC Head Coach
(On the game...) "Obviously it's a very difficult place to play. They are very well coached and have some fantastic players. In my opinion, they're probably one of the favorites to win this competition. So when you come here, you have to show more than just football ability, but heart and character. We knew as the game went on that it'd get tough and we had to stand up for it. I thought the guys were magnificent in the first half when it came to their football and magnificent in the second half when it came to their desire and their character."
(On the team not being familiar with each other...) "We've got so much to improve on. We're not stupid - we know we have new players coming in that haven't played together. Our organization wasn't too bad, but we can be so much better off the ball. What I like about this team is their heart, their character, their desire, that they want to win. That's what you hope for and build your house on that type of foundation. We know we have lots to improve on and we'll get back to work as soon as we can."
(On if Jermain Defoe's play surprised him at all...) "No, not at all. It does take some players time, but I've had the pleasure of playing alongside the man and watching him at training so once you see it day in and day out, you just know that's going to happen."
(On if this game sends a message to Toronto fans and the league...) "No, no, it's one game. We tick that box. As I said, we know we've got so much to improve on. We've got to get better in all facets and a couple of guys we need to get up to speed fitness-wise. We tick that box and move on to the next one. We have a very difficult game against D.C. next."
(On Michael Bradley's play in midfield...) "He initiates a lot of pressure and he backs it up. He causes turnovers by his presence and on the other side, even Michael would probably say, when you're not used to that kind of surface, it takes a bit to get used to. Our passing wasn't as good, but for us, it was a game where we had to stay organized and we had to show character and the chances that we got, we had to take when we did."
(On if he felt the central midfield was overcrowded...) "I thought they did very well. We obviously have things that kick in if we feel we're overcrowded. Support systems there and no, we didn't get it perfect, and there's much to work on. If it were perfect, I'd probably have to hand in my resignation because I wouldn't be needed."
(On the team's vision for this year...) "We've got a vision of where the club wants to be. We're trying to take steps forward and how big those steps are are determined on days like this. It was a good step forward. Again, we're self-aware enough to know that we've got lots to work on. The guys now will recover and can't wait to get back to work and try and get better."
(On play in the second half...) "When you're playing against a team of the quality of Seattle - they've got a fantastic coach, a fantastic home ground and the fans behind them - you're going to have times when you soak up pressure. We soaked up a lot of it and handled it very well. As I said, when you come to a place like this, if you're going to get a win, you have to be able to handle it. I thought the players were fantastic."
(On the back line...) "The back line is one of the hardest things to get right, to tell you the truth. Whether you're too high or too low, you balance when you have the ball. When you don't have the ball, it's very important. [...] What I like about this team is they're not afraid of the occasion and for a big occasion like this, they seemed to play a lot better."
(On Doneil Henry...) "I thought he was very good. We forget he's only 20. He plays above his age. But when you've got Justin Morrow, Julio Cesar and Steven Caldwell around you, and Michael Bradley in front of you, it does help. I thought the whole back line - everybody, I can't fault anybody to tell you the truth."
(On where this win ranks in his career...) "It felt like a game that had a bit of an edge. It was built up so it was a powerful game for us. We probably didn't have the greatest preparation going in - we were probably under prepared. To come to a place, like Seattle, which is one of the top places in the league, and get a win is very substantial."
(On switching the flanks between Jackson and Rey...) "Just to see different kind of skill set. Alvaro (Rey) is probably the polar opposite player to Jackson so sometimes they get used to a player and deal with a different kind of skill set. We like to move them around as much as we can to unsettle them."
(On the difference Jermain Defoe makes up front...) "That's why he's been at the level he's been at because he can do those sorts of things. Once you see it first hand, there's a reason why he's scored so many goals. He proved that to hopefully millions of people that watched the game today."
Jermain Defoe - Toronto FC Midfielder
(On coming to Seattle and getting the win...) "It's always going to be difficult when you come to places like this, with the atmosphere, the crowd, and they've got good players. I think to come here and to win was massive for us. Everyone is delighted. It's an important three points."
(On scoring two goals in his MLS debut...) "I think the most important thing is obviously winning the game, and to score two goals in your debut, it's a dream. The first goal was a great ball and you just have to finish it off. I thought the second half, we showed great character because they put us under a lot of pressure and you've got to do that sometimes away from home. Like I said before, the three points was massive."
(On how he thinks Roy Hodgson viewed today's game...) "I think the most important thing for me is to focus on playing here, winning games, and working hard for the team, and obviously trying to score goals. Obviously with the England thing, it's obviously going to be in the back of my mind, but I'm sure if someone said to Roy Hodgson, 'If you haven't seen Jermain scored two goals...' then maybe he won't be surprised. So yeah, it was good, but I think it's important that we keep our heads down now and all stick together and look forward to the next game."
(On whether today's match was more physical than he expected...) "Yeah, it was physical. Obviously playing on that pitch was different, the artificial, but you can't make excuses. It's the same for both teams. You have to adapt and I thought everyone played well today. I keep mentioning the second half because they got us under a lot of pressure and you have to show character away from home sometimes and I thought we did that in the second half."
(On him and the other international players adjusting to the MLS...) "Obviously sometimes it takes time to adapt. I think obviously when you're training with the boys, you know, it's important to listen to the information and try and see how, you know, your new teammates play. It does take time. For some reason today, it all clicked and it was a massive three points and everyone's happy."
(On now dealing with even higher expectations...) "At the end of the day, I understand that expectations are going to be high. There's pressure, but that's why you play football. You play football to be the best, and to win things, and as a striker, to score goals. There's pressure in that, but it's good pressure."
(On the quality of service he got from teammates...) "It was quality. Obviously it's going to difficult because the pitch, it was quite wobbly, and at times it was like a little bit scrappy, but the service was good. The boys were looking for me and getting the two goals in the first half was important for us. The second half was just organized really. We tried to stay compact and hit them on the counterattack. And that's what we did. Credit to them. They played really well in the second half, but we showed great character."
(On the atmosphere...) "It was electric. It was amazing. Great experience. I thought their fans were fantastic. Our fans were good as well. It's a fantastic stadium."
