Game On…
26th minute: We’re now 25 minutes in and each team has taken turns looking very dangerous. Dallas’ Kenny Cooper and Arturo Alvarez have each had good looks that they were unable to put on frame. Those chances, however, were bookended by a couple spectacular saves from FC Dallas keeper Dario Sala and a Dema Kovalenko free kick that ricocheted off the left post. As we write that, RSL midfielder Javier Morales controls a bouncing ball at the top of the Dallas box and fires left-footed into an empty net for a 1-0 RSL lead.
40th minute: We’ve got our first change of the match as RSL veteran, Andy Williams replaces defender Jamison Olave. The move pushes the home side back into a traditional 4-4-2 with a flat-back four of Wingert, Mantilla, Borchers and Beltran.
Halftime: And we’ve hit the break up on the hill. RSL holds a one goal cushion, but that may not cut it. This game has featured loads of dangerous chances on both sides and looks destined to have another ball or two hit the back of the net. We’ll be back in the second with more…
68th minute: Well, we’re all level now. A 56th minute strike from FC Dallas front man Kenny Cooper sees the teams knotted at one apiece. RSL continues to look dangerous however, as the home side’s earned several chances since, highlighted by a Dema Kovalenko shot that was cleared off the line by a Dallas defender.
73rd minute: And RSL capitalizes! A great lofted, through-ball found midfielder Kyle Beckerman alone on the keeper and the Salt Lake captain squeaked his one-touch effort past Sala and into the back of the net for a 2-1 RSL lead.
85th minute: We’ve got just a few minutes left and RSL still holds a one goal margin. FC Dallas is pushing hard for the equalizer but the boys in red have held strong so far.
Game Over: RSL holds on to earn the 2-1 victory! There were some scary moments down the stretch, but the visitors could not find the scoresheet as Nat Borchers, Nick Rimando and the rest of the Real defense held strong to exorcise the demons of Dallas’ last two Rice-Eccles visits. Thanks to all the fans who came out or followed the score live. We’re out for tonight, but make sure to check out the Reserves’ match tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. at Quinn’s Junction in Park City. There’s no better way to spend a Sunday morning than at an MLS Reserve Division match.
10 May 2008 RSL HQ
I love the fact we finally got an ugly win. Just a couple comments. First, does anyone else think the Kenny Cutler sub was interesting to say the least. I just do not like his look out there, to me he seems lost most of the time, not really sure where he is supposed to be. I would have much rather seen a different option in there. Second, Kyle Beckerman, minus his goal tonight, seemed to be off his game. Seemed he really struggled with his touches and passing. Hope to see him back to his normal self thursday. Lastly. I really struggled with game management at the end. Our corners in the second half were atrocious. Why do we have one lone man in the box the others all playing defense. We might of well just given them the goal kicks. And we really tried hard to allow Dallas to once again destroy our lead in stoppage time. Glad we got the win, but I sure hope our play gets better before Colorado.
1. Got the ugly win.
2. Javi Morales had a bad game. His first touch and his passes were not good. I still think RSL is missing a good #10, and I don’t think Morales is the answer.
3. Beckerman didn’t have a good first half, but looked much better in the second half. There was no movement in the midfield when the RSL defenders had the ball, so they had no choice but to try to go directly to the forwards.
4. Williams is the engine and key to the midfield. When he came in, it made all the difference.
5. Tony Beltran is looking really good. I think he has real promise.
6. Espindola played a good game. Deucher harrased the defense and his work rate was high, but I still think he is playing too far away from the goal.
7. RSL has not scored on a corner kick yet. They need to start converting on some of those (Deuchar?).
8. Cooper looked pretty good at defensive midfielder. He distributed the ball well.
9. Borchers had a very solid game until the last five minutes when RSL, stupidly, tried to collapse back, and Dallas had 2 golden opportunities to score but blew it.
10. RSL had a lot of chances that they did not convert.
11. They finally found a way to win a close game, although they pretty much dominated the run of play.
I agree mostly with what Timoteo just said. Ugly wins count just as much as pretty wins. Finally it seems that the ball has bounced our way for once. Thankfully the refs didnt hurt us that much. Our endgame needs to improve and we were very lucky not to give up another stoppage time equalizer at home. We are getting our chances at net. Deuchar had another solid game but he is still playing a bit too far back from goal. Cutler did look good! He had a solid game with the Reserves last week and is probably one of the main reasons why we shipped out Talley. Beltran was solid again. Please keep Morales and Espindola healthy. We look completely different without them. Also, lets finally do something on the ROAD for once this season. A win against the CRAPIDS on Thursday night will finally demonstrate to the rest of the league that RSL is improved and for real.
cRapids will continue RSLs poor showing on the road with a decisive win. And as I have said before, “Mark my words. Only 6 total wins for RSL this year.”
RSL was lucky, not good, to escape with a win over FC Dallas! Why must the coaching staff experiment with formations against an FC Dallas and not a San Jose? And do not give me the crap, “Because they wanted to line up better with FC Dallas’ 3-5-2. Why must we conform to others. Lets play our ball and our game.
Note to Kreis: Quit Whining about officials and worrying about things you can not control. Control what you can control. Teach the guys to finish!!! One bad call at the end of the game wont matter if you have a two goal lead!!! Your whining leads me to believe the mentality has not changed at RSL!! It is still “blame the other guy.”