SEATTLE – There was little debate about the red card that shifted the Seattle Sounders’ MLS season opener in a decidedly different direction on Sunday night, but that didn’t make it any easier for the hosts to stomach the final result.
The Sounders dropped the first game of the new season to Sporting Kansas City 1-0 after second-year defender Oniel Fisher was issued a red card in the 41st minute for a reckless tackle, a play that suddenly stunted the Sounders’ otherwise solid first half.
Referee Alan Kelly wasted no time issuing the red card to Fisher, who left his feet while attempting to tackle Connor Hallisey as the SKC midfielder cut inside from the left flank. Fisher didn’t make serious physical contact with Hallisey, but the ferocity of the tackle was enough for the straight red, and a token example of the kind of tackle the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) is expected to crack down on in the new season.
Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid conceded the tackle warranted a red card, but still lamented the loss of his young defender, who started admirably in place of injured veteran Tyrone Mears. Fisher appeared in 14 games in the regular season and postseason in 2015, including 11 starts.
“I thought Oniel’s play was good, up until that point,” Schmid said. “I thought he was having a good game. He got forward well and got himself into some good situations … overall I thought his play was good.”
The Sounders created a wealth of scoring chances in the early going while on level footing against SKC, but they were forced to scramble the lineup after Fisher was sent off. Second-year midfielder Cristian Roldan was forced into emergency duty on the back line after starting in the right midfield in place of injured starter Erik Friberg.
“When Fisher got the red card I knew instantly that I would be going to right back,” said Roldan, who platooned on the back line briefly during the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals last year.
Although they were forced to play with a more defensive posture in the second half, the Sounders didn’t crumble. They nearly scored in the 53rd minute off a shot from distance from midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz and an ensuing follow up from forward Nelson Valdez before SKC defender defender Nuno Andre Coelho found the winner by skipping a shot past goalkeeper Stefan Frei from distance in the 72nd minute.
“It’s frustrating because we carved out a few chances, and then Fish gets sent off and we have to adapt, and we know it’s gonna be a fight,” Frei said. “We had to put in a good shift, and we did. We even carved out a few chances in the second half. That makes my mistake even tougher, because I know we put in a solid shift, and the guys deserved to at least keep the zero.”
