Sigi Schmid has stated that he is extremely confident that Seattle Sounders will be able to avoid a repeat of last season’s collapse towards the end of the campaign. The team currently lead the MLS Western Conference table by healthy five points over second-placed LA Galaxy. One of biggest tests for the team in the coming campaign will come up in the match against Real Salt Lake on September 12. Real Salt Lake have been on a good run of form in recent times, although they seem to have lost it in the last two matches after going through a draw and a defeat.
Schmid saw his team get a 4-2 win over Chivas USA, who was struggling at the bottom of the table. Former Newcastle United striker Obafemi Martins was one of the stars of the show after scoring two goals in the match. Midfielder Andy Rose also scored a brace in the match but the shine was taken off because of the two goals conceded. The victory against Chivas USA means that Seattle Sounders have now won three matches on the bounce after having previously looked like going through another poor patch. There were concerns about the form of the team after the defeat against Real Salt Lake and draw with San Jose Earthquakes.
“I thought [Rose] was sharp. I thought he turned, collected the ball, looked forward, he was a guy hitting a lot of our passes into our forwards and putting guys in. The icing on the cake was that he scores a good header and he gets in on the back post as well. I was very pleased with Andy. It’s great to go in with three straight wins because everyone was concerned that we were in a dive or something [after the rough stretch], and I said ‘this isn’t last year. It’s a different year,” said Schmid.