By Johnny Edward:
Former Nigerian International Obafemi Martins scored a brace and added an assist on Sunday as Seattle Sounders FC defeated New York City FC 3-1 at Yankee Stadium.
Martins put Seattle in front in the 23rd minute against the run of play for his 31st career MLS goal. Marco Pappa played a perfect through ball to Martins, who split the center of NYCFC’s defense and took two touches before beating goalkeeper Josh Sounders inside the near post from 16 yards.
He however put the game beyond doubt in the 66th minute, when he finished off an an impressive 18-pass sequence with a clever backheel chip from Clint Dempsey slotting his shot inside the far post for his sixth goal of the season.
The win was Sounders third straight on the bounce – including two away – as they moved up to third spot on the MLS Western conference standings.
Martins also highlighted the natural feel of the chemistry he and Dempsey have grown to develop, saying that the success they’ve had in games is simply a manifestation of how they train together on a daily basis.
“I think it’s just automatic, really,” Martins told Seattle Sounders website.
“It’s what we do in training. For us, we just need the ball so we can do something different with it. We did tonight. I’m glad that I scored and he scored too. As a team we did very well.”
“This is how we hoped to play. We knew the game was going to be difficult, but we did our part. We came together as a team and made it work.”
With the victory, Seattle moved to 5-2-1 ahead of its match next Saturday, another road tilt against the Columbus Crew.
Copyright © 2022 Completesports.com All rights reserved. The information contained in Completesports.com may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the prior written authority of Completesports.com.
COMMENTS
Meeen,I wish Martins was a part of the National team. The passion to play and score runs in his veins. I really wish he hadn’t retired. Anyway,all the best to him…