Corinthians hand the Sounders FC their second hard-fought loss of the tournament in penalties.
São Paulo, Brazil - The fourth game in this second matchday was no exception. Due to the competitiveness of the contenders the three set periods were not enough to discern who the winner were. Corianthians had to recover from two early hits by Seattle, and needed the penalty shootout to get their fifth points in the Mundialito de Clubes.
Seattle Sounders surprised the Timão with a wonderful beginning. Yuri Morales and Francisco Cati turned the score into a dangerous 0-2 in the first quarter, and that was a blow Corinthians were not expecting. Yet after the first hit by the North American, the Brazilian side acknowledged that things were not on the right track. Despite all their powder, Soare’s side was unable to do any harm on the Seattle defense, and things got even worse when the Mexican defender raised the 0-2. Only Buru’s shot just seconds before the first horn achieved to shorten the gap in that same period.
The completion of the comeback did not last to come, though. Juninho made it 2-2 in the very first seconds after the break, brushing Seattle’s advantage aside. Two full periods were still left. Time enough for Corinthians to turn the situation around and secure three new points. And time enough for Seattle to recover from that two hits and head to break the bank amid such a powerful atmosphere cheering against them. But none of these happened. Not even adding the three minutes of extra time, and the match was sent to a new penalty shootout today.
After two shots, Mão’s miracle save to Frank’s attempt made half of the job. Betinho’s calmed and perfectly aimed shot made the rest for Corinthians to clinch the points.
Goals: 0-1: Morales, min. 9 (1); 0-2: F. Cati, min. 3 (1); 1-2: Buru, min. 0 (1) ; 2-2 : Juninho, min. 11 (2).
Penalty shooutout: Juninho, in; Moreira, in; Benjamin, in; Frank, Mão saves.
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