MLS Week 8: Good vs Poor - Decisions that lead to goals

Goals don't just happen. There's a reason why they happen - either a bad pass to a defenseless keeper, a great tackle that changes the possession, or maybe even an off the ball run which allows a teammate to get free on goal. No matter what the circumstance is, when it comes to scoring or conceding goals - there's always a could've, should've, would've on both sides of the ball.

Let's take a look at how a key goal developed in Week 8 and expand upon it from both sides.

Chicago Fire vs. Seattle Sounders: Breaking down the own goal conceded by Arne Friedrich

Point #1 - Pressure forces poor decision making

At 36:45 Chicago Fire goalkeeper, Sean Johnson, catches the ball and rolls a short pass to Dan Paladini. Seattle Sounders' right back Adam Johansson immediately closes on him, forcing him to turn back to goal and lay the ball off to Gonzalo Segares. Segares has a clean pass to Patrick Nyarko up the line, but Jeff Parke immediately closes on him, forcing Nyarko to get rid of it quickly as well.

The ball eventually ends up at the feet of Jalil Anibaba who is, once again, immediately pressured by a Sounders player (Eddie Johnson). Instead of playing the ball back to Johnson who can launch it up field - Anibaba decides to switch the field of play in his own half. The high wind gusts force the ball to sail behind Dan Gargan and out of bounds, giving Seattle possession deep in Chicago's half. A few passes later the ball winds-up back in Seattle's half where a mistake by the Sounders' keeper almost changes EVERYTHING.

Point #2 - One touch can make all the difference
At 37:40 Sounders' goalkeeper Michael Gspurning receives the ball from Parke about 5 yards out of his box. He too makes a somewhat questionable decision (with the high wind gusts) by trying to chip the ball to Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Sebastian Grazzini's eyes light up as he sees the ball drifting right to him. Normally Grazzini will do much better here, but his first touch slightly gets away, allowing Hurtado (the only defender standing in his way of a sure goal) to win a crucial last line tackle. This tackle not only denies Chicago of a clear scoring opportunity, but ultimately leads to the start of an attack that results in a Sounders goal a mere 20 seconds later.

Point #3 Regroup and use your vision
After the tackle Osvaldo Alonso controls the ball and distributes to David Estrada around midfield. Estrada passes it back to Alonso who then feeds a brilliant half-field thru ball to a streaking Eddie Johnson. Johnson gathers the ball by the end-line and passes to Estrada who has just caught up to the play. Estrada's pass towards Freddy Montero has no shot of getting there, but a poor touch from Arne Friedrich catches Sean Johnson in "no man's land" and gives the Sounders the lead going into halftime.

Match Highlights and Recap - Chicago Fire vs. Seattle Sounders

How it could've been avoided...
Multiple things could've went differently between Johnson's distribution to Paladini and the own goal by Friedrich. Pressure helps force turnovers, but the costly mistake was Anibaba trying to do too much. He should've known what the wind was doing to the ball, especially by the 38th minute.

Seattle instantly benefited by regaining possession, but almost gave it right back. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (returning from an ACL injury) was my "Man of the Match" along with Osvaldo Alonso in this game. The Seattle back line had its hands full with Nyarko and Oduro all night, but Hurtado was a key contributor in Seattle's victory - at both ends of the field.