Seattle Sounders and New York Red Bulls played out a goalless draw in the major league regular season on Saturday night at Lumen Field. The matchday 23 fixture ended 0:0 after 90 minutes of cagey football. It was a result that kept both sides level on 27 points in the standings.
The first half offered little excitement until the final moments. Seattle brought on Kalani Kossa-Rienzi in the 38th minute, while Jordan Morris came on for the hosts at the break. The only card of the half arrived on the stroke of 45-plus-three, when Ronald Donkor picked up a yellow for the visitors. By then, neither side had carved the other open.
The second half saw the tempo tighten further. Justin Che and Julian Bazan both booked in the 51st and 63rd minutes respectively, while Paul Rothrock joined them on the referee's blackboard after 81 minutes. Seattle made three changes in the closing stages, bringing on Cristian Roldán, Matthew Dos Santos and Paul Rothrock himself. And here's the thing — the match never really found its rhythm.
The statistics tell the story of a stalemate. Seattle controlled 52 per cent of possession and registered 1.25 expected goals, while the visitors managed 0.86. Both teams created two big chances between them, but the shot accuracy figures showed the quality missing — 30 per cent for the hosts against 44 per cent for New York. To be fair, both sides registered 88 attacks, but the numbers don't lie about the efficiency.
The result leaves Seattle in 13th place after 22 games and New York in 10th after 23. Both clubs have won seven and drawn six, though the visitors have one more defeat to show for their efforts. The draw brought them together early in the standings, but neither team looked ready to push further.