SEATTLE – Celtic’s Georgios Samaras scored a first-half penalty and the Scottish giants added another goal after the break to win their first match in three games on their North American tour, 2-1 over Seattle Sounders FC in an international friendly on Sunday.
A first-half red card to Seattle goalkeeper Terry Boss cast a disappointing pall on the afternoon match, which drew a boisterous crowd of 45,631 at Qwest Field.
Celtic’s Patrick McCourt scored the second goal off a swift counterattack to double the lead in the 64th minute, while substitute David Estrada pulled one back for the Sounders in the 66th.
On perhaps the game’s most significant play, Samaras ran onto a long ball and evaded the Seattle goalkeeper on his way into the net in the 29th minute. Replays showed Boss clearly clipping the Greek international, but the midfielder managed to keep his balance long enough to sweep the ball into the net.
Referee Paul Ward, who had blown his whistle quickly after the contact between Boss and Samaras, pointed to the penalty spot and showed Boss a red card.
Had the referee been able to play advantage, both teams would have been satisfied—Celtic would have gotten their goal and Seattle could have kept Boss on the field. Instead, Samaras converted the ensuing penalty kick, and Seattle had to play the final 58 minutes down a man against the legendary Scottish side.
Former Seattle University goalkeeper Jordan Jennings came on for Boss after the ejection.
The red card took attention away from the friendly’s prime attraction: the debut of Seattle’s newest addition, Blaise Nkufo. And Sounders fans had to be encouraged by what they saw during 60 minutes of work from the Swiss international.
If the 35-year-old lost any fitness during his World Cup break, it didn't show. Had this been a league match, it looked as though Nkufo would have been able to play the full 90. He looked smooth and active during his shift up front alongside Fredy Montero in a 4-4-2 formation.
Nkufo didn’t take long to make his first play, slotting in a nice ball to Miguel Montaño that nearly led to a goal in the second minute. The Zaire-born striker also positioned himself nicely for a header on goal later in the first half, but his shot was blocked by a Celtic defender.
Even with the man disadvantage, Seattle attempted to score the equalizer after Estrada’s superb shot from distance brought the score to 2-1. In additional time, Estrada finished a promising offensive move from the Sounders with a shot off the near post, but time ran out before Seattle could find the net.
Celtic conclude their tour Wednesday at Boston's Fenway Park against Sporting Lisbon. Seattle will look forward to a week of training before entertaining the Colorado Rapids next Sunday night.
Sounders midfielder Freddie Ljungberg was not in attendance Sunday after Seattle coach Sigi Schmid announced Saturday that he had given the star the weekend off due to a recurring ankle injury.
Estrada played despite being placed on the injured reserve by the club earlier this week. The move, which was to make room from Nkufo on the active roster, rules Estrada out of the next six league matches but does not forbid him from playing in other competitions.
