VANCOUVER – Chad Barrett capitalized on two defensive lapses by the Vancouver Whitecaps to give the Seattle Sounders a 2-0 win over their Cascadia rivals.
The Whitecaps came into Saturday’s match at BC Place in an unfamiliar position–ahead of the Sounders in the MLS standings. The Whitecaps appeared to be the better team to start the game, dominating possession for the first 20 minutes, but it was the Sounders who were able to take advantage of the few scoring chances they had.
Five minutes in, Clint Dempsey chipped a long pass to Barrett, who tucked the ball past Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted, much to the delight of the large contingent of Sounders fans who drove north from Seattle to take in the match. Some in crowd pleaded for an offside call on Barrett’s first goal, but defender Pa-Modou Kah kept him onside.
With less than 10 minutes left in the first half, Barrett scored again when he took a pass from over the top and buried it into the left corner past Ousted.
Starting in place of the injured Obafemi Martins, the 30-year-old Barrett showed a poise in front of the goal that he rarely displayed during his time with Toronto FC where he was once teammates with current Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson..
“The catch-22 of being a professional soccer player is you learn to play the game as you get older,” said Barrett. “Then as you get older, you can’t play anymore. You try to find that perfect combination of experience, age and skill.”
Robinson waited until the 61st minute to make a substitution, swapping Darren Mattocks for diminutive midfielder Cristian Techera, who looked impressive in his first MLS start.
The Whitecaps then brought it Gershon Koffie, but the changes had little impact as the Sounders packed defenders in their own end in an effort to protect their two-goal lead.
“It’s probably our best performance overall,” said Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei, who made five saves for his fifth shutout. “I thought we were very efficient and in control offensively and defensively at all times.”
The win gives the Sounders 19 points on the season, one point behind the Whitecaps, who remain in second place in the Western Conference.
-with files from Canadian Press
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