Mehdi Ballouchy’s 200th Major League Soccer Appearance
Scoring his second goal of the season, Mehdi Ballouchy had a memorable 200th Major League Soccer appearance, but it wasn’t enough as the Seattle Sounders FC beat New York City FC 3-1 in front of 25,384 on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium.
Midfielder Pablo Alvarez, who was making his first-ever start for the Club, was the main catalyst in attack. His outside-foot through ball was weighted perfectly for Mullins who ran into the box, but the forward’s shot went directly at Frei in the 17th minute.
“I’m happy about starting today, but the most important thing is the team,” said Alvarez. “We’re obviously disappointed about this defeat. We have to correct the mistakes that we are making. I think we have to continue to work very, very hard and look forward to the next game.”
In the 23rd minute, Pappa played a through ball to the speedy Martins who out-raced the New York City FC back line and had a breakaway. Martins, who set a Seattle single-season record with 17 goals in 2014, put the visitors ahead with his low shot.
The journeyman Mehdi Ballouchy tied the score at 1-1 with a powerful left-footed strike from 18 yards, beating Seattle goalie Stefan Frei in the 54th minute.
New York City FC are now 1-5-3 (6 points), while Seattle improves to 5-2-1 (16 points) with a third consecutive victory.
Patrick Mullins was running onto a ball played into the corner and he inadvertently contacted a defender who slipped, freeing up the New York City FC forward. Mullins continued his run and cut toward the box, held up play and slotted the ball to an on-rushing Ballouchy. The midfielder, who also scored in the 1-1 draw with Philadelphia on April 16, touched the ball forward with his right foot before blasting a left-footed shot into the mesh.
The celebrations were short lived as the visitors quickly regained the lead.
Seattle defender Dylan Remick gained possession near midfield, dribbled down the left side and passed to Martins. The Nigerian forward ran toward the byline, danced around his defender and served the ball into the box toward Marco Pappa. Pappa laid the ball off to Dempsey, whose shot dribbled past a diving Josh Saunders for a 2-1 advantage in the 58th.
Unfortunately, the Sounders responded quickly as Clint Dempsey scored four minutes later and Obafemi Martins found the back of the net for the second time on the evening in the 66th.
Seattle wasn’t done. Martins received the ball off a nifty touch from Dempsey, split a pair of defenders and slotted it into the back of the net for a two-goal cushion.
“You have two world-class players [on the Sounders] and when you give them some time and space, they’re going to put the ball away, said Saunders. “It’s rough. But again, I thought we played well, we just didn’t execute.”
New York City FC came out the aggressor in the first half. The Club held advantages in possession (56.8%-43.2%), passes (283-217) and shots (11-4).
Despite the better possession and chances, it was the Sounders and their leading goal-scorer who had the breakthrough.
“We were the much better team in the first 45 minutes, said New York City FC Head Coach Jason Kreis. “But again, we don’t score a goal. We dictated the game, we had majority of the chances against one of the best teams in the league which has been together for a very long time.”
New York City FC return to action against the New York Red Bulls on May 10. Kickoff from Red Bull Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT.
POST GAME NOTES:
Scoring Summary:
23’ Obafemi Martins, SEA (Assist:Marco Pappa)
54′ Mehdi Ballouchy, NYC (Assist: Patrick Mullins)
58′ Clint Dempsey, SEA (Assist: Marco Pappa & Obafemi Martins)
66′ Obafemi Martins, SEA (Assist: Clint Dempsey)
Misconduct Summary:
28’ Kwame Watson-Siriboe, NYC (Yellow Card)
39′ Marco Pappa, SEA (Yellow Card)
44′ Tyrone Mears, NYC (Yellow Card)
50′ Mix Diskerud, NYC (Yellow Card)
79′ Obafemi Martins, SEA (Yellow Card)
85′ Kwadwo Poku, NYC (Yellow Card)
88′ Kwame Watson-Siriboe, NYC (Yellow Card)
Lineups:
New York City FC: Josh Saunders, Shay Facey (RJ Allen, 70′), Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Chris Wingert, Jeb Brovsky, Mix Diskerud, Ned Grabavoy, Pablo Alvarez, Mehdi Ballouchy (David Villa, 54′), Khiry Shelton, Patrick Mullins (Kwadwo Poku, 70′)
