Chad Barrett scored a dramatic stoppage time winner to secure the three points against MLS rivals New York Red Bulls in a tight game at CenturyLink Field to send the Seattle Sounders to the top of the Western Conference table.

The start of the game was very stretched as both teams attempted to grab a early goal from down the wings. Marco Pappa was causing the Red Bulls defence all kinds of problems in the opening ten minutes and the winger came close to providing the opening the goal for the hosts when a cross found the head of Cristian Roldan inside the box, but his header was met by a great, low save from Luis Robles in the 12th minute.

Despite the Red Bulls controlling the midfield for the first half, the Sounders were the side creating the best chances. Osvaldo Alonso and Pappa were spraying crosses into the Red Bulls penalty box from both wings, and the New York defence did well to header clear any on coming cross.

The Red Bulls took the lead in the 36th minute through Lloyd Sam when Bradley Wright-Phillips smashed a free kick into the wall, the ball bounced off the crumbled wall and Sam was at the right place to head the floating ball from close range past Stefan Frei to give the visitors the lead. The Sounders could not respond for the remainder of the first half as the two sides walked off the pitch for half time.

The second half burst into life minutes after the restart. Obafemi Martins attempted a bicycle kick after Clint Dempsey kept the ball alive with a back post header, but Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles sacrificed his body to punch the ball clear from the penalty box to stop Martins from doing the spectacular. Wright-Phillips was almost gifted a goal when the Seattle defence fell asleep for a moment when the English striker found himself one-on-one with Frei, but Brad Evans pulled off a very last ditch challenge on the striker to stop the Red Bulls from doubling their lead. The challenge looked like a certain penalty, but the referee wasn’t convinced.

Frei was called into action when Mike Grella’s beautiful, curling effort from outside the box looked goal bound, but the Swiss goalkeeper was there with an even better save to deny the midfielder. Despite the visitor’s dominance in the second half, the Sounders grabbed a equaliser from Pappa. The winger dribbled his way into the penalty box after a great counter attack, shimmied his way past Chris Duvall, before placing the ball past Robles with a beautiful finish to level the game in the 69th minute.

The game looked to be ending in a draw, but Barrett completed the comeback as the attacker poked in from close range after brilliant Tyrone Mears cross found Dempsey at the far post, and the Sounders forward placed the ball past Robles, allowing Barrett to tap home and give Seattle the three points right at the death. The goal looked to be Dempsey's, but Barrett got the slightest of touches on the ball just before it crossed the line.

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Dylan Walsh
Student at the University of Brighton, 20-years-old, Twitter: @dylanwalsh_