Sigi Schmid tried to invent a new position for midfielder Brad Evans, although it was largely due to the club’s current injury problems.
The midfielder was used as a centre back in the recent match against San Jose Earthquakes. The experiment proved to be a disaster after Seattle Sounders conceded three goals and lost the match 3-2. This turned out to be the first setback of the season for the club and it has come very early in the campaign. Seattle Sounders managed a convincing 3-0 win over New England Revolution in the first match of the season.
This victory raised hopes that the club would challenge for a title this season. However, they have been brought back to earth after this defeat, which leaves them six points adrift of the leaders Dallas even at this early stage.Schmid can take heart from the fact that Dallas have played one game more than Seattle Sounders. Despite the failure in the first match,Schmid intends to carry on with his experiment and it is almost certain that Evans may continue in the centre back position if the club’s injury situation does not improve before the next match against table leaders Dallas. Seattle Sounders are away from home for this key clash.
“It doesn’t change anything. If you look back at last year we were pretty consistent with how we approached Stefan Frei, and there were some goals that were allowed where a lot of people would have said, ‘Oof, maybe you need a change.’ We didn’t, and it worked out pretty well for us at the end of the day,” said Schmid. “When you make mistakes at center back, that’s it. It’s pretty much game over. Mistakes will be made, but we’ll continue to forge on. … I guess it’s good that it’s out of the system early in the season,” said Evans.