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Like most classic Guille-isms, this one is rooted in a very simple truth. Some will insist that this is cheating, while others will insist that it was a brilliant piece of gamesmanship. No matter where one stands, one must tip their cap to Seattle for their flawless execution.
After referee Ricardo Salazar whistled Jhon Kennedy Hurtado for bodyblocking Eddie Gaven in the box, Hurtado and James Riley undertook a lengthy appeal. Hurtado and Riley remained in Salazar’s face for nearly a minute, keeping the referee occupied. It was the perfect diversion for Sounders defender Tyrone Marshall, who went to the penalty spot and got to work with his cleats. Marshall earnestly dug into the spot as if he were a slugger prepping for a crucial at-bat. He raked his cleats and back and forth, back and forth, over and over again. He jammed his heel into the ground when more force was needed. By the time he was finished, there was barely any evidence left of the white dot. There was a crater in its place.
It was a classic “pulling one over while the ref is distracted” move straight out of the scripted world of professional wrestling. Or like when a bank robber calls in a bomb threat across town to divert police attention before hitting up the bank.
Marshall’s act was not caught on the ONN broadcast, but what’s funny is that when the camera panned across the goal, you can see the clubhouse kids in the background, pointing straight out to the penalty spot while screaming to get someone’s attention.
Schelotto protested the “broken floor” to no avail. Before Salazar could even listen to Guille’s case, he was further distracted by Sounders repeatedly bouncing off of a motionless Steven Lenhart, who merely stood in place with his hands on his knees with his toe at the edge of the penalty area. The defenders obviously wanted to get goal-side of him, so they made repeated attempts to push him aside, then kept falling back as if he had done something to them. The scuffle eventually escalated and the Sounders were eventually able to push Lenhart from his spot, but that took a little more time. When all was said and done, 2 minutes and 16 seconds had elapsed between the penalty whistle and Schelotto’s actual attempt.
When Guille’s shot went wide, I couldn’t help but smirk at the success of Seattle’s brazenly blatant attempts to throw Schelotto off his game, between the two contrived confrontations and the digging up of the penalty spot. Points are precious at this time of year. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. And agree with it or not, they did it brilliantly.
After the game, Dante and I were talking about it, when I decided to head out to the field to see what the damage actually looked like. Former Crew trainer Chris Baer made the common sense (yet overlooked to that point) suggestion that I take some pictures, so I flagged down Greg Bartram and took him out to the field with Tucker and me.
And now for some depth perception. The crater was a half-inch deep and was more than wide enough to accommodate Tucker’s cell phone. If anyone’s pet hamster drops dead this week, the Crew have a burial plot available.
http://blackandgoldstandard.com/?p=2249
After referee Ricardo Salazar whistled Jhon Kennedy Hurtado for bodyblocking Eddie Gaven in the box, Hurtado and James Riley undertook a lengthy appeal. Hurtado and Riley remained in Salazar’s face for nearly a minute, keeping the referee occupied. It was the perfect diversion for Sounders defender Tyrone Marshall, who went to the penalty spot and got to work with his cleats. Marshall earnestly dug into the spot as if he were a slugger prepping for a crucial at-bat. He raked his cleats and back and forth, back and forth, over and over again. He jammed his heel into the ground when more force was needed. By the time he was finished, there was barely any evidence left of the white dot. There was a crater in its place.
It was a classic “pulling one over while the ref is distracted” move straight out of the scripted world of professional wrestling. Or like when a bank robber calls in a bomb threat across town to divert police attention before hitting up the bank.
Marshall’s act was not caught on the ONN broadcast, but what’s funny is that when the camera panned across the goal, you can see the clubhouse kids in the background, pointing straight out to the penalty spot while screaming to get someone’s attention.
Schelotto protested the “broken floor” to no avail. Before Salazar could even listen to Guille’s case, he was further distracted by Sounders repeatedly bouncing off of a motionless Steven Lenhart, who merely stood in place with his hands on his knees with his toe at the edge of the penalty area. The defenders obviously wanted to get goal-side of him, so they made repeated attempts to push him aside, then kept falling back as if he had done something to them. The scuffle eventually escalated and the Sounders were eventually able to push Lenhart from his spot, but that took a little more time. When all was said and done, 2 minutes and 16 seconds had elapsed between the penalty whistle and Schelotto’s actual attempt.
When Guille’s shot went wide, I couldn’t help but smirk at the success of Seattle’s brazenly blatant attempts to throw Schelotto off his game, between the two contrived confrontations and the digging up of the penalty spot. Points are precious at this time of year. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. And agree with it or not, they did it brilliantly.
After the game, Dante and I were talking about it, when I decided to head out to the field to see what the damage actually looked like. Former Crew trainer Chris Baer made the common sense (yet overlooked to that point) suggestion that I take some pictures, so I flagged down Greg Bartram and took him out to the field with Tucker and me.
And now for some depth perception. The crater was a half-inch deep and was more than wide enough to accommodate Tucker’s cell phone. If anyone’s pet hamster drops dead this week, the Crew have a burial plot available.
http://blackandgoldstandard.com/?p=2249
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