Updated Apr 8, 2012 - 12:06 pm
Match Review: D.C. United 0 - 0 Seattle Sounders FC
by John Zielonka, 710ESPN Seattle
In their first away match of the year, Seattle and D.C. United played to a 0-0 draw. It was the Sounders' second straight game without a goal
The Sounders nearly scored the winning tally in the dying minutes of the match. Marc Burch's potential game winning header hit the left post to preserve the tie.
Marc Burch (Courtesy of Soundersfc.com)
Man of the Match: Osvaldo Alonso
Alonso managed to keep D.C. United's Dwayne De Rosario off the scoresheet. The Seattle midfielder held the United in check for the full 90. United head coach Ben Olsen made a tactical change to get De Rosario away from Alonso in the second half.
"I thought he did a good job of shutting him down and eventually they moved DeRo up to get him away from [Osvaldo Alonso]."--Sigi Schmid, Sounders FC head coach
Burch's near miss
It would have been sweet revenge for Burch to score against his old team. His last minue header missed by inches.
"We got pretty lucky. I should’ve pushed it out a little wider but it fell right to [Seattle’s] player and I was lucky that the post was there to help me out."--Joe Willis, D.C. United keeper
What worked
Keeper Michael Gspurling make four saves to earn his second shutout of the year. Credit the defenders in front of the tall Austrian for their efforts in notching the clean sheet.
"When he is able to come out and punch those balls clear it makes it a lot easier on our defenders because they know they have a goalkeeper that’s going to get to those balls...He came up with some big saves tonight for sure."--Sigi Schmid
Fredy's scoring woes
Fredy Montero continues to struggle offensively. The Colombian has yet to tally a goal or an assist.
"Fredy didn’t have many looks today because Dejan [Jakovic] is a great defender; he was able to shut him down. One of the things Fredy likes to do is get the ball deep and turn with it, but we only let him do it once or twice and it didn’t come to anything."--Joe Willis
They said it
"I don’t think offensively either team was at their best. It was a pretty physical battle. I think [Seattle] came here with the thought of getting numbers behind the ball and having a real blue-collar day. You have to be pretty good with the ball, be confident, move and be clicking, and in the first half, we really weren’t."--Ben Olsen, D.C. United head coach
"I’m pretty happy with our performance because we controlled the game. D.C. [United] had a couple of chances, so I think the point is OK on the road. To take this point I think is important."--Michael Gspurning
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John Zielonka is a lifelong fan of soccer. He previously lived in Detroit and attended numerous NASL matches featuring the Detroit Express. John follows the local soccer scene and is the Seattle correspondent for Goal.com, where he writes about the Seattle Sounders and MLS for Goal.com. Internationally, he's viewed matches at the World Cup, Confederation Cup, England's Premier and Championship leagues.
