The Sounders and Tottenham Hotspur gave 56,349 at the Clink a little glimpse of high-end soccer in an entertaining 3-3 draw on a warm, breezy Saturday afternoon, with Sounders youngsters Tristan Bowen and Sean Okoli teaming up for a late goal that gave the Sounders brief hope of an upset of the EPL powerhouse.
They subbed in late in the second half and connected in the 79th minute when Okoli broke free of Tottenham’s defense and roared down the far flank and delivered a crisp cross that Bowen tapped in from three yards.
But the 3-2 lead lasted two minutes before Sounders’ World Cup vet DeAndre Yedlin had a ball hit his arm in the area. Iago Falque easily converted the PK.
In the 87th minute, the friendly became a little angry when the teams began a push-and-shove contest. Ozzie Alonso drew a yellow card.
The Sounders are 2-5-1 in their history of international friendlies. The game was the first of three friendlies on a North American training tour for Tottenham, which will play in Toronto and Chicago, and the first for new manager Mauricio Pochettino from Argentina.
Tottenham scored first in the 11th minute whern Lewis Holtby knifed between two defenders and delivered a header over GK Stefan Frei. But the Sounders leveled in the 33rd minute on a soft chip penalty kick by Gonzalo Pineda.
The Sounders were the aggressors through the first half, in which they outshot the visitors 12-5.
Alonso stunned the Brits in the 49th minute when, unmarked at 30 yards, he boomed a shot just over GK Brad Friedel’s outstretched hand and nicked the bottom of the crossbar before settling in the net.
An equalizer came in the 55th minute off another penalty kick, this time Roberto Soldado scoring after he beat the defense with the ball and was fouled from behind in the area by Chad Marshall in a clumsy challenge.
The Sounders’ Make-a-Wish signee Friday, 18-year-old Xander Bailey from West Virginia, was honored at the open with the first touch. At the end, Yedlin and Bailey walked off arm-in-arm, and Yedlin handed over his jersey.
2 Comments
Brad Friedel? I’d forgotten about him and that he was with Hotspur. He’s only played 14 FA matches with them since they got Hugo Lloris, but he was also getting $6 million a year not long ago. Friedel’s had a nice career in both the USANMT and in the Premiership. Would’ve been cool to see Hahnemann in the nets for Seattle for the same reason.
A few years ago the Sounders would have lost this match convincingly. Great to see the club remain competitive with the Spurs for this match.