Bill Swartz and exercise Sigi Schmid private showing the Sounders FC-Portland Timbers match. The elementary I-5 Derby was an powerful 90-minute 1-1 draw. What will the Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC have cooked up in Sunday afternoon's rematch at Portland's Jeld-Wen Field? On May 14 in a driving Seattle rainstorm, the Pacific Northwest clubs brought their crave metre feuding to Major League Soccer. The struggle of words continued from both govern coaches days later.
Portland's John Spencer took exclusion to what he perceived as Seattle excuses for not producing a superiority over the Timbers. Seattle's Sigi Schmid said in his post-match remarks that the base suffer might have suited Portland's style. Sounders FC were also missing some injured starters. "It was peer they had 50 excuses written down before the prey about why they didn't worn out us 3- or 4-nil at home," Spencer said. No dispute the Timbers carriage has caught the quintessence of the conflict with Seattle, and his words started the buildup to the July 10 rematch in Portland.
"Next age we go up there we're active to shoplift pile of towels so we can wither the area off for them before the game," Spencer said. "And settle slew of interweaving typescript so they can shrink their eyes after the game." Schmid took a minute jostle at Spencer this week, but otherwise had great endorse for the Timbers.
"John being Scottish, I've got to use a lexicon or have a translator to view the things he's tweeting me," Schmid joked. "I differentiate we said a lot of things back and forth, but I have had a lot of defer to for John. I characterize he's a definitely brill coach." Sounders and Timbers have enchanted distinctive paths since their initially meeting.
Seattle has racked up 18 points, current 5-1-3. Portland has struggled at 1-5-1 and just 14 points. As the Timbers showed though in Seattle, they are risky and can occur straight away on set pieces. Jack Jewsbury's bending bountiful rebound was headed in by Mamadou Danso in between Sounders defenders. "We have to do a better responsibility of not picture silly fouls," said Schmid, "and then covering them up on their set pieces.
They also have timely darting players who can cause problems. Because of the ardent rivalry, they will come to battle." Schmid believes his players will fodder off the Portland fans' energy. As he told me in the Coach's Corner, "We've got to reinforce mild within it, but I consider it's something the guys are looking hurry to.
Usually teams come into our digs and are motivated by the crowd. It's great for us to go into a part of the country where the pile is customary to induce us as an opponent." The the human race who's the focal intention of Portland's ire is Seattle midfielder Roger Levesque. The Timber fans' hate has been directed at him after he scored leading goals for the USL Sounders, and again in Seattle's U.S. Open Cup victories over Portland.
Levesque tried to defuse the berth a touch this week. "I judge the struggle is great for the round of soccer and the Pacific Northwest," he said. "I don't conscious if being in the mean of it is a great doodad for me, but I don't sit with it. It's categorize of a fun thing to do. I be giving them something to get a little mad about.
" How would Levesque detail those rowdy Timbers fans who will be yelling insults at him and his Sounders teammates? "In one word," he said, "passionate!" Sounders FC pre-game show starts at 12:30 with crowd Matt Johnson. Arlo White's play-by-play is 1 p.m. Sunday on 97.3 KIRO FM.
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