Sunday night’s Sounders FC season opener was chock-full of compelling storylines, one being the latest edition of the Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins show.
In the club’s 3-0 victory over the New England Revolution, the two forwards reminded the Sounders FC faithful that they have lots to be excited about in 2015. First, Dempsey drew a penalty and converted it 25 minutes into the match. Then Martins used his insanely strong legs to get up to and head in a cross from Tyrone Mears. Seattle’s final goal of the game – perhaps the most beautiful of the three – saw Martins find Dempsey for an easy finish and the two hug it out in celebration.
Here’s what Head Coach Sigi Schmid and his players said following the match about the chemistry between Martins and Dempsey and their performance on Sunday.
Sigi Schmid:“It’s always good to see. The two of them – the stuff they pull off is unique and special. I think our fans here are seeing something very unique and special when they play together. I thought it took them a little bit of time to get in their rhythm, but once they got into their rhythm I thought they were good. Individually they are just so dangerous. Collectively, it makes it so hard for centerbacks because you don’t know when to step up or who to step up to because they take turns dropping into that hole.”
Clint Dempsey:“Like I said last season, I love playing with Oba. He’s one of the players I’ve enjoyed the most playing with in my career because it reminds me of being a kid playing pickup style, just thinking alike and knowing that if you make the right run, he’s going to find you. He makes players better around him. I enjoy playing with him, and hopefully we can do this season what we did last season.”
Obafemi Martins: “This is what we’ve been doing since last year, and the same thing in preseason. We’ve never stopped doing our thing. But at the end of the day, we did very well as a team and we’re very happy with the three points.”
Brad Evans: “I think Clint having a full preseason with us, and Oba at the same time – you can only benefit from that. They looked great tonight. They cause so much trouble – it’s insane. If we keep those two guys healthy, we give ourselves a great chance of going to MLS Cup.”
Tyrone Mears: “I think when you’ve got strikers like Clint and Oba, they want the ball in the box. They do fantastic work outside the box, but they do the damage in the box, and it’s important for us wide guys to get the ball to them.”
