SEATTLE – Clint Dempsey’s still looking to find his offensive rhythm in a new-look offensive approach in 2016, and he’s well aware there’s work to be done as the Seattle Sounders seek their first win of the new year.
Dempsey and the Sounders will host Vancouver Whitecaps FC at CenturyLink Field on Saturday (7 p.m. PT; Q13/KIRO 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM), and the Seattle forward said Thursday his partnership with fellow forwards Nelson Valdez and Jordan Morris is still coming together.
“Still a work in progress,” said Dempsey, who has yet to score from the run of play in 2016. “[We’ve] got to do a better job as a team just circulating the ball in the attacking third and getting better looks in front of goal. The first game against Club America I thought we moved the ball well, but since then we haven’t been able to create chances that we want. The chemistry is still building.”
Dempsey and the Sounders have scored four goals over three games this year – three over a two-game CONCACAF Champions League series against Club America and one against Real Salt Lake last weekend – but Dempsey admitted he hasn’t had the looks he would like after scoring two goals off set pieces against America on Feb. 23.
“The first game against America I felt really good, I was getting some good looks,” Dempsey said. “And since then I haven’t had many chances. That’s chemistry, that’s us doing a better job of keeping the ball in the final third and moving it around and trying to get chances for each other. It’s coming along … hopefully the next game we can do a better job of it.”
Head coach Sigi Schmid echoed a similar sentiment on Thursday, preaching patience as the group of Dempsey, Valdez and Morris continue to acclimate to one another. The trio has yet to combine for a goal from the run of play this season.
“It’s coming along,” Schmid said. “The more they play together, the more they feel comfortable place changing, the more they recognize what each other’s strengths are and where they want the ball. It’s going to get stronger and stronger.”
Dempsey admitted he and Morris are still learning each other’s style of play, now roughly five weeks after Morris joined the club as a celebrated Homegrown Player signing. Last month Dempsey lamented the offseason loss of former Sounders forward Obafemi Martins after often citing his intricate give-and-go connection with the Nigerian international, and now he’s learning how to play with the 21-year-old Morris, who brings a different style to the front line.
“I’m more of the style that likes to link up with people, give-and-go here and there,” Dempsey said. “He’s more of a runner, getting behind the line. It’s just mixing it up, and us getting on the same page and finding each other in the game. We haven’t played many games with each other, but he works hard and he has a bright future.”
Dempsey said he hasn’t necessarily thrown an arm around Morris so far – “I’m not the type of guy who says, ‘Hey, come sit down and let me tell you about life,’” Dempsey said with a laugh – but he thinks Morris has already picked up some of the essential points about being a focal point of an MLS team.
“You gotta have a little bit of tough skin in this business, doing what we do,” he said. “You’re under the microscope. One game you’re the worst player in the world, next game you’re the greatest. You just gotta stay level-headed and keep pushing.”
