Well, we’re about 15 minutes from kickoff up here on the Hill and the teams are just wrapping up their warmups. We’ve got the lineups here in front of us and look out, there’s a ton of talent out there tonight. Houston’s got their A team taking the pitch, and RSL is no different. If this one isn’t entertaining we’ll be shocked (but at least we’ve got fireworks after the game.) Check ‘em out…
Real Salt Lake
GK - Nick Rimando; DF - Ian Joy, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Chris Wingert; MF - Kyle Beckerman, Kenny Cutler, Javier Morales, Andy Williams; FW - Robbie Findley, Kenny Deuchar
Bench
Chris Seitz, Tony Beltran, Matias Mantilla, Yura Movsisyan, Alex Nimo, Tino Nunez, Kevin Reiman
Houston Dynamo
GK - Pat Onstad; DF - Wade Barrett, Patrick Ianni, Bobby Boswell, Craig Waibel; MF - Brad Davis, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, Brian Mullan; FW - Dwayne De Rosario, Brian Ching
Bench
Corbin Walker, Corey Ashe, Kyle Brown, Geoff Cameron, Franco Caraccio, Richard Mulrooney, Chris Wondolowski
10th minute: Just over 9 minutes in and there’s nothing really to talk about yet. Neither team has had even a sniff of the goal yet, solid defending’s been the story.
17th minute: And Real gets the first real chance as a great combination from Javi to Kenny, sees the big Scotsman nod the ball right into the path of a streaking Beckerman at the six. Kyle’s first touch left him seriously wanting however, and a great opportunity went with it.
25th minute: Another great chance for RSL as Robbie beats the Houston defense to a long ball and corrals the ball before an onrushing Onstad can get to it. His lay off to Beckerman however sees the shot cleared off the line by a Dynamo defender. Look for Robbie’s speed to be a huge asset tonight, the Houston defense doesn’t look ready to deal with it.
35th minute: It’s been all Salt Lake for the last few minutes. Real continues to move the ball well and just needs that last ball to unlock the D.
Halftime: We’ve reached the break level at 0-0. RSL had the better opportunities but was unable to capitalize in the final third. Houston is a potent offensive team and the Real defense has look nothing but solid so far. If they can keep it up, a good result should be in the cards.
59th minute: RSL continues to be the aggressor here in the second stanza. They’ve have, again, earned a handful of dangerous opportunities, highlighted by a point-blank Deuchar header that Onstad parried away. At this rate they’ve got to put one of these in!
64th minute: We’ve got our first RSL substitution, and it’s rookie Tony Beltran replacing Bomma in the midfield. Head Coach Jason Kreis looks to be taking advantage of Tony’s speed down the right side, as Houston’s defense has had trouble adapting to Robbie so far.
74th minute: Things are getting crazy here. We’ve got our second RSL sub of the night with Tino Nunez taking the good Dr.’s spot up top. It’s gotten pretty chippy in the last few minutes.
81st minute: We’re checking out for the next little bit. We’ll be back after the final whistle to give you the rundown of the final 10 minutes.