Real Salt Lake v LA Galaxy (2-3) – Galaxy Rally from Two Down with the Help of RSL Mistakes

For the first time in club history, Salt Lake lost a home match when they had a two goal lead.

Los Angeles Setup

     With Edson Buddle out injured and Robbie Keane returning from the European Championship, Bruce Arena elected to start Landon Donovan as a lone striker. The Galaxy played a 4-5-1 and looked to attack on the counter. The move would typically start with David Beckham or Juninho hitting a long ball to Donovan or Mike Magee, who played on the left wing.

     The visitors from California had an unusual shape to their 4-5-1. Juninho played as the lone holding midfielder and Beckham played slightly in front of him and to the right. Sarvas played in the middle and struggled to get on the ball or close enough to Donovan to provide attacking support. On the wings, Bryan Jordan played more defensively on the right and Mike Magee was used as the secondary threat towards goal down the left side. Interestingly, the fullbacks Sean Franklin and Todd Dunivant only combined for one cross. Usually, the fullbacks are relied upon to get forward when a team operates with one striker and two deep lying midfielders.

Salt Lake Setup

     Jason Kreis is known for setting his side out in a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. Kyle Beckerman protected the back four. Will Johnson played on the left and Ned Grabavoy and Johnny Steele interchanged between a narrow right position and a central attacking position. Without a right sided player giving the side width, Fabian Espindola drifted out to the right flank which provided a one v one matchup with Todd Dunivant that produced the opening two goals.

Real Start Fast

     The matched started with the Galaxy willing to sit back and concede possession and Real looking to control the tempo and get the fullbacks forward. Nine minutes in, Chris Wingert switched the ball from the left to the right side to Espindola. Espindola was given space by Dunivant to reach the endline and play a low ball across the six yard box to Kyle Beckerman who made a clever near post run and slotted home the opening goal.

     Opting to play in a defensive and counter attacking style, going behind in the first ten minutes was not the end of the match for Los Angeles. Salt Lake continued to pour forward and push for a second which opened up space to counter.

     The Galaxy responded when Donovan got in behind the defense but Nick Rimando collected quickly off his line. Then the Galaxy threatened from the set piece on two occasions but failed to test the keeper. Although the Galaxy retorted well, they would find themselves two goals behind in the 29^th minute. Johnny Steele laid the ball off to Espindola who had room to cross from the right side. His ball was directed toward Alvaro Saborio whose (intentional/fortuitous) touch directed the ball into the far corner.

How Each Side Attacked

     Salt Lake were at their best when they pressed the Galaxy back four and forced long kicks up field. Applying pressure for 90 minutes is too taxing, so the home side pressured in spurts. Also, the understanding between the Saborio and Espindola troubled the Galaxy defense. Espindola’s runs out wide started to draw the attention of one of the center backs which allowed Saborio a one on one matchup the produced chances but not goals.

     The Galaxy were dangerous when Donovan had the ball running at the back four with an option to pass or shoot. He was able to setup Magee and Sarvas at the end of the half but the finishing was poor. Hopefully when Keane returns, Arena will use this formation and play Donovan in Sarvas’ central role where he would have the ball at his feet more and be the creator for Los Angeles.

A Two Goal Lead is the Most Dangerous in Soccer

     Trailing by two goals, the Galaxy looked bereft of comeback ideas. However, the home side gifted a lifeline to Los Angeles five minutes after taking a two goal lead. Tony Beltran played a lackadaisical back pass towards Rimando which was picked off by Landon Donovan who rounded Rimando and put his team on the board.

     Just after halftime, Olave was carelessly caught in possession by Mike Magee who had space on the left side and finished with his left foot into the far post. The Galaxy were now level after two Salt Lake gaffes. With Real pushing to try and retake the lead, the Galaxy almost scored on the counter. Beckham hit a beautiful ball to the left to Donovan whose first time volley went wide.

     Jason Kreis made two changes around the hour mark to try and win the match. Javier Morales came on for Johnny Steele in a like for like swap and Luis Gil replaced Jamison Olave. Will Johnson moved to left back and Chris Wingert to central defense. Bringing on two attacking and creative midfielders made sense but Salt Lake struggled to craft any chances in the last half hour. Since Gil played in the Morales role last season, the two players occupied similar areas on the pitch which made the side easier to defend.

     Bruce Arena made a key change bringing off Sarvas for Michael Stephens and moving Mike Magee into the middle. This switch setup the winning goal five minutes later. The Galaxy setup the counter attack after with Magee making a run to the left touchline opening up space down the middle for Donovan to run past Nat Borchers, who was caught to high upfield. Donovan received the pass from Magee and Rimando was unable to tackle the ball away allowing Donovan to score his brace with a simple pass into the net. After the goal, Real struggled to create for an equalizer and LA hung on to steal the three points.

Conclusions

     Suddenly, the Galaxy are showing life after taking six points from the last two matches. Although the result was great, LA were the poorer side during the 90 minutes and were economical in taking advantage of two horrible Salt Lake defensive errors. Real will be furious at throwing away a two goal lead at home in front of a sold out crowd but Jason Kreis will use the poor result as motivation in future matches.

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Chivas USA v Real Salt Lake (0-1) - RSL Execute to Perfection with Ten Men and Secure Road Win

The Setup after the Red Card to Borchers

Salt Lake welcomed Jamison Olave back into their defense after returning from an injury in the all-star match. Chivas USA was coming off a tough midweek loss in Portland and needed to take the home three points to push towards a playoff spot.

Two Early Defensive Errors

     In the 11th minute, Jazic played a chipped, blind back pass that was intended for Junior Lopes. The ball ended up being directly between the two Chivas center backs and it seemed Lopes was not at full speed trying to recover the ball. Conversely, Saborio’s goal scoring instincts took over and the Costa Rican put Lopes under pressure causing him to misplay a last ditch clearance attempt. Then, Saborio collected the ball and rounded an on rushing Dan Kennedy and passed the ball into the back of the net.

     Chivas USA quickly responded to being a goal down. Two minutes later, Flores tucked inside and forced Rimando to save. Then, in the 18^th minute, Angel controlled a cross off his chest and ripped a left footed side volley off the cross bar. A minute later, Flores took a shot instead of playing Angel through to his left, and the veteran striker was furious at not being given the glorious chance.

     Six minutes later, it was Real who committed the defensive error. Borchers failed to control a Beckerman back pass and LaBrocca quickly seized on the mistake and headed towards goal. Just outside the area, Borchers brought down LaBrocca and was shown a red card by Kevin Stott. There was little merit to the visitor’s argument that Borchers was not the last man and the red card was justified.

Chivas Strategy as a Man Up

     A man up, Robin Fraser kept the diamond 4-4-2 shape. The strategy was to push the full backs up and use the overlap to swing in crosses. Jazic was more involved on the right than Umana, which is why Fraser brought in Trujillo at half time to try and create a threat on both wings. Instead of tucking inside like they did early in the match, Gavin and Flores stayed wide to link up with the full backs. However, the midfielders never tried to take on Salt Lake’s full backs to get inside the box, or play the ball early into the middle. The crosses were dealt with well by the towering center backs Olave and Schuler and the goalkeeper Rimando. As a result, Chivas swung in 26 unsuccessful crosses and only 6 successful (according to opta stats).  

     Chivas also failed to get Nick LaBrocca involved in the match. He has been operating and flourishing this season in the playmaker role. His play earned him a spot on the all-star squad, but on Saturday night he was a non-factor. The midfielder logged a full 90 minutes but only attempted 16 passes. Considering the Goats had 65% possession, this paltry number of passes explains why they had no creativity. LaBrocca has the inventiveness and the skill to unlock defenses, but Chivas never even tried to probe the ball into the middle which made defending easy for Salt Lake.

     Another failure in the Goats attack was the slow ball movement and the nonexistent player movement. It seemed like they were out of ideas and did not understand how to play with an extra man.

     Chivas had a couple of half chances in the remainder of the game but only heavily tested Rimando once. In the 78^th minute, the ball was played across the top of the 18 and LaBrocca’s dummy left Angel with room to shoot. His shot dipped in front of the keeper but Rimando reacted well to push the effort wide.

Real Playing With Ten

     Jason Kreis’ side played as well as they could have with 10 men. They dictated how the game would be played, which made it easy for them to defend. The strategy was to clog up the middle and force Chivas to play out wide. Schuler and Olave are huge, physical center backs and were easily able to deal with the aerial balls.

     Real clogged the middle with a couple of slight adjustments. Kreis maintained his diamond midfield shape, with Espindola playing behind Beckerman and Johnson and Gil playing on the wings. Espindola did a good job of getting in front of Chivas’ holding player Elliott and forcing him to play the ball wide instead of to LaBrocca. Additionally, the value of Beckerman to RSL was on display Saturday night as he patrolled and controlled the middle of the pitch, totally eliminating the impact of LaBrocca. Furthermore, when the ball went wide, the opposite wide midfielder (Gil or Johnson) would tuck inside to help Beckerman. This left the switch open for Chivas, but Real was able to recover because Chivas passed the ball around too slow. As a result, Real kept a perfect defensive shape and was never stretched.

     Going forward on the rare occasion, Real was able to create as many chances as Chivas. The counter attack would begin with a long ball to Saborio, who either took up a position in the left or right channel. One v one with a center back, he was usually able to win the aerial battle. RSL expertly used the wide space that was vacated by the advanced Chivas full backs. The lone striker would then look to Espindola for support. The Argentine would run to the same area as Saborio. Upon giving up the ball, Saborio would run centrally towards goal looking to latch onto a cross from Espindola. The work rate of essentially the only two RSL attacking players was fantastic and they came up with a few chances. They failed to add a second goal but Chivas had to respect their threat.

Conclusions

     To borrow a term from commentator Mark Rogondino, Chivas USA’s ‘anti-speed’ attack and their overall old age has me worried for their playoff chances. The combination of Moreno and Angel brings experience and awareness, but the strikers now have too similar qualities to form a lethal partnership. Neither man has the ability to run behind the defense or dribble by defenders. Thus, defenses can mark them closely.

     Also of note, Heath Pearce was subbed off with a right hamstring injury. This is a blow to Pearce because he will most likely miss the upcoming friendlies for the US national squad. If serious, this could further weaken a defense that has already lost Jimmy Conrad to retirement due to concussion problems and Zarek Valentin to a quad injury.

     Real will be ecstatic with these three points. They still have a few games in hand on the West teams in front of them and have further separated themselves from fellow playoff aspirer Chivas. Jason Kreis should possibly consider using Schuler more often in place of Borchers. Borchers has not been as formidable as he was last season and his confidence seems to be low. Alternatively, maybe letting him play through his struggles will be more beneficial in the long run.

     Finally, the play of Luis Gil looks better and better each week. In 25 minutes in the playmaker role, the youngster looked more comfortable and even tried a few bits of bold skill in tight spaces. Also, he displayed tactical awareness moving out to the wing to help secure the three points. It is great to see a young American player getting his chance and thriving in a position (#10) where foreigners have tended to dominate (I have no problems with foreigners but like to see Americans getting a chance to play a position where we have not produced many quality players in). 

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Toronto FC v Real Salt Lake (1-0) – Toronto’s New Formation Yields a Rare Clean Sheet and Three Points

Toronto’s Strategy

     Aron Winter abandoned his Dutch roots by swapping his 4-3-3 for a 3-4-3. The formation switch to three at the back is a welcome one, since it is such a rarity in football. Winter must have thought that whether he played 3 or 4 at the back would result in a suspect back line, so he may as well play to his strengths (wing play) while entertaining the BMO Field faithful. In goal, Kocic got the start for the injured Frei, making him the 37^th player Toronto has used in MLS this season. Frings started as the middle center back with Iro and Eckersley flanking him. Stinson and Borman had the rigorous task of playing wing back; a position that requires the discipline to defend the wings while also supporting the attack. DeGuzman and Avila played in the center of midfield, the two acting more as defensive players in the system rather than creative outlets.

     Toronto’s system was set up to play down the wings, especially the left side. Instead of relying on the central midfielders, Winter used the wing backs and the wingers to try and outnumber Real’s fullbacks. The left side of Plata and Borman was particularly effective. The one downside of the wing attack was the lack of service to Koevermans. The four wide players yielded only 12 crosses; instead opting to try and cut inside to get a shot off.

Real’s Strategy

     After a 3-0 thrashing of New York last weekend, it was easy for Jason Kreis to select the same starting XI. This marked the first time all season that RSL produced the same lineup consecutively. The 4-4-2 diamond system was as usual employed.

     Instinctively, Fabian Espindola was able to find space down the left channel in the first half and on the right in the second. The space vacated by the Toronto wing backs was filled by Espindola. He was the most dangerous attacking player, especially with his strike partner Saborio having a queit night.

Toronto Starts Bright

     The Reds were able to come out of the gates quickly. This may have been due to the odd formation confusing Salt Lake. However, TFC could not capitalize on this early dominance. Their best chance came when a Plata cross dropped nicely to Borman who slipped when he reared back to strike the ball possibly slipping on confetti (seriously there was tons of confetti inside the 18).

Espindola’s Enigmatic Half

     After dominating the first half hour but failing to claim the lead, Toronto felt lucky going into halftime level after Espindola had several chances towards the end of the half. In the 30^th minute, he was teed up by Saborio eight yards from goal but struck the cross bar. A few minutes later, Espindola was through on goal after Iro misplayed a bouncing ball but the Real striker missed his chance. For Salt Lake, Wingert had to be substituted after he broke his left wrist at the end of the first half; a blow for Real’s depth.

Beckerman Comes to Life at the Hour Mark

     Around the 60^th minute, Beckerman got much more involved in the run of play, which in turn awoke RSL’s attack. He was able to get on the ball and find Gil and Espindola in dangerous positions. Williams came in from his left midfield position to take up a more central position to help RSL have a numerical advantadge in the middle.

     Winter replaced Andy Iro with Ty Harden in the 64^th minute. The central defender immediately made two last ditch interventions to deny Saborio in the air and Johnson on the ground. The defense of Toronto was suspect all night. They looked unorganized and had to rely on poor finishing from RSL and timely last minute challenges to prevent a goal.

     The match always looked like it had a goal in it, and Toronto provided the lone strike in the 77^th minute. Stinson over hit a cross from the right and Plata collected the ball on the left. The diminutive winger torched Will Johnson and was able to get a shot away on his right foot. The weak attempt only reached the far post after a clever dummy by Marosevic put off Rimnado, who had anticipated a deflection. Plata’s goal further cemented his position as Man of the Match for Toronto.

     With the lead, Toronto turned a three man defense into five. The home side dropped very deep and bunkered down to try and preserve their lead. Salt Lake was invited in to try and test the shaky Kocic. Alvarez had a left footed shot go just wide, Kocic left the goal empty on a corner after wildly coming out for the cross and Will Johnson’s excellent half volley was well saved by the keeper to seal the three points.

Conclusions

     Toronto will be thrilled with three points and still have a very long distance shot at reaching the playoffs. The Reds do have a very important Thursday matchup v …. in the Champions League. I do not expect Winter to play a 3-4-3 in that match but maybe he liked his experiment and will use it again. It will be crucial for them to get Johnson back from injury to replace the very average Marosevic on the right side. Also, the defensive performance must be more disciplined if they are to pick up points in the Champions League.

     Maybe Salt Lake would have been better off playing a 4-3-3 to exploit the wing backs position high up the pitch. But, Kreis stuck to his guns and was almost rewarded as Real had more than enough chances to score. Maybe BMO Field is just a cursed ground for Salt Lake; Real have never won or scored a goal in Toronto in MLS play (stat according to RSL TV broadcast). If RSL are to advance deep in the playoffs they will need a more active and involved Saborio. The striker was hardly involved in the match and at times seemed like he was not on the pitch. Also, Beckerman looked tired for the first hour of the game, probably due to him playing 90 minutes for USMNT on Wednesday. A sharper Beckerman would have gotten Gil more involved in the first half.

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Real Salt Lake v New York (3-0) – Real Suffocate Red Bulls With Defensive Pressure

     Each manager came into the match fearing his team was worn-out. Salt Lake was playing their third match in 8 days and had suffered a loss on Wednesday night in Kansas City. New York traveled to London and played games on Saturday and Sunday before making the trek back across the pond to Salt Lake City.

Real’s Strategy

     Jason Kreis maintained his usual 4-4-2 diamond formation. However, his lineup surprised by putting an enormous amount of faith into 17 year old Luis Gil and starting him in the #10 role behind Saborio and Espindola. Schuler stepped in to pair with Borchers in defense due to the Olave hamstring injury. Other than that, the familiar lineup is well established. Salt Lake aimed to pressure all the way up the pitch which flustered New York’s back line. Saborio and Espindola did yeomen’s work chasing down Ream and Marquez, even making back passes to Rost difficult.

New York’s Strategy

     Hans Backe made a few tactical changes to his typical lineup. Solli moved up from right back to right midfield. Also, Agudelo got the start up top for the injured Luke Rogers. The US international struggled to make his mark on the match, often drifting wide right to try and find space or pick up the ball. McCarty and Ballouchy paired in central midfield due to the absence of Tainio, who many believe is one of the lynchpins to New York’s success. Henry played his usual second striker or “incisive” playmaker role and New York played a 4-4-1-1.

RSL Fast Start Pays Off

     New York looked out classed and out of energy from the start. Real began the match with an exercise in passing the ball around the pitch, which lasted for around two minutes. The pressure from RSL made it difficult for New York to keep possession and work the ball up the pitch. This domination in the run of play paid off in the 13^th minute. Beckerman swung in an in swinging corner towards the six yard box. Borchers was able to beat Ream to the inside and head it home for the opening goal. The Red Bulls have conceded the most goals from set pieces in the MLS, which was a key for Real to capitalize on since they have struggled to score in open play since the injury to Javi Morales.

Goal Just Before Halftime Deflates NYRB

     With a 1-nil lead, Salt Lake kept the pressure on upon giving the ball away. New York looked casual when passing the ball around the back and a few times passed the ball to Rost putting him in a tricky spot.

     When New York was able to hold onto the ball, they still had problems attacking. Tainio was very sorely missed in central midfield as the Red Bulls had nobody to challenge Beckerman and Gil in the center of the pitch, or win the ball back and find an outlet pass to Henry. McCarty and Ballouchy have a good passing radius, but were unable to pick up the ball from the center backs and find their playmakers. As a result, New York had to play down the flanks or Henry had to drop deeper to collect the ball. Play down the left side between Miller and LIndpere produced a few crosses, but down the right Richards speed was missed and Solli was ineffective in midfield. Additionally, Henry dropping deep meant that he was now 40 yards from goal and could not get close enough to the penalty area to slip in a through ball or fire a shot to test Rimando.

     For Real, Luis Gil was the player running their show. He has an expansive soccer mind for a young player; always making himself available for a pass and being able to hold off challengers in midfield. Kreis must think highly of Gil to put him in the toughest role on the pitch; especially the way Salt Lake has struggled creating chances.

     Two minutes before the half, Real’s pressure paid dividends. The Red Bulls had a throw in deep in their own half. Albright threw it to Marquez who could only half clear. Beckerman first time poked the poor clearance to Gil who was 20 yards from goal. Gil blasted a low right footed shot from the left side to the far corner, which doubled Real’s lead.

Second Half a Formality

     Backe tried to inject life into his side by making halftime adjustments. Rost went off with an injury and was replaced in goal by Kondoul. Rafa Marquez was brought into midfield in place of Dax McCarty and Keel was brought on to play center back.

     The Red Bulls boss attempted to breathe fire into his team, but it was never going to happen. The second half played out like a preseason friendly as it lacked intensity, almost seeming like a requirement rather than a regular season match. The Red Bulls best chance came from a corner where Agudelo put his header wide.

     Finally, RSL sealed three points in the 76^th minute when Roy Miller was whistled for a handball in the box off of a corner. The left back was unlucky as he was in a crowd, but the infringement left the referee no choice. Saborio stepped up and made it 3-nil.

Conclusions

     For New York, chalk this demolition up to an Emirates Cup hangover. One thing I would be worried about though is the form of Agudelo. He has yet to mesh with Henry the way Luke Rogers has, which is why he has been left on the bench.

     RSL fans should be excited about the way their team performed, coming off a tough loss. Kreis must have circled the wagons quickly and instilled confidence back into his side. The squad was full of energy and played a very tactical pressing game. This style is so tough to play against and foreign to how most MLS sides approach defending, which is why RSL will be tough to beat in the post season. 

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Sporting Kansas City Trumps A Chippy Real Salt Lake 2-0

RSL’s Setup:
    Jason Kreis set RSL up in their usual 4-4-2. Schuler replaced the injured Olave and played left center back with Borchers at right center back. Wingert played left back and Beltran played right back. Beckerman played his usual spot in front of the back four and as RSL looked to him to get the attack moving forward. Johnson played wide left and at times was the only source of width in the entire RSL side. Warner and Alvarez played in the center and right of midfield respectively, but switched positions often and failed to make a positive impact on the match for RSL. RSL played a very fluid midfield, with a lot of position flexibility. Saborio, back from his suspension, partnered up top with Espindola. They were the most dangerous players for RSL along with  Beckerman, as was to be expected.

SKC’s Setup:
    SKC set up in a 4-2-1-3. Espinoza and Zusi partnered in front of the back four. Jefferson played in the middle ahead of them, with Teal Bunbury getting the starting nod at striker for coach Peter Vermes. Kamara played wide right and Bravo played wide left. Espinoza and Zusi were very aggressive getting forward and helped to create many scoring chances fro SKC, especially in the first half. Bunbury looked particularly dangerous and may have planted himself ahead of Sapong
for the starting striker role, at least for their next match.

First Half:
    SKC thoroughly dominated the first half of play. They played many long balls up top to Bunbury, with a particular focus on attacking Schuler, Olave’s replacement. They dominated possession by playing a physical and aggressive pressing style, no doubt fueled by the home fans at Livestrong Park. Espinoza was very dangerous taking long-range shots at goal, winning possession in the midfield, and playing service up top to Bunbury and wide to Bravo and Kamara. It was Espinoza’s strike off of a theft of a poor back pass from Alvarez and nifty split of two RSL defenders that gave SKC a 1-0 lead in the 29’ minute of the match. It was a testament to how the entire first half went, with SKC
being the more physical side, and winning the vast majority of possession and 50/50 balls. Just 5 minutes later a long throw-in into the box by Besler that Kamara headed on goal was saved by Rimando, and Bunbury buried the rebound after Borchers lost track of him amongst the scramble. It was a 2-0 lead SKC would never relinquish.

Second Half:
    RSL opened the second half with much more aggression, energy, and pressure on SKC when they had possession. This was to be expected after a lackluster first half performance. One problem RSL had in the first half was a lack of width, especially on the right. Warner and Alvarez were both drifting too far inside, and clogging the middle so Beckerman didn’t have enough space to create offense for RSL. Not only that but they were clearly losing the midfield battle against Zusi, Espinoza, and Jefferson. It looked like the match may take a turn, with RSL starting to take control, when Espinoza went in with a two-footed challenge on Beckerman and was sent off. There is no doubt it was a quick card, and replays showed it was a questionable red card at best, but with all the cards being handed out this season he should have known better. It gave RSL some more momentum to try and walk away
with at least one point. However, despite the plethora of scoring opportunities RSL created fro the remaining 40 minutes or so, they were unable to net a single goal.

Conclusion:
    RSL and coach Jason Kreis should look to replace both Warner and Alvarez in their next match, as they were both highly ineffective Wednesday night. They need to play someone who will give them more width on the right to open up the middle of the field for Beckerman. Saborio looked good after missing a match and was unlucky not to score. Espindola continues to show his talent along with his temper. He was lucky to avoid multiple cards. RSL should be able to bounce back from this game on the weekend.
    SKC seems to have found their formation of choice, and a record of 14 consecutive games unbeaten will prove that. They will need to replace the very effective Espinoza for their next match, which may
strip them of some aggressiveness and creativity on the midfield. Bunbury looks poised to start and continue his good run of form as of late as SKC continue to push for a playoff bid.

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Real Salt Lake v Dallas (2-0) - Real Domination in Battle out West

 The Rio Tinto hosted a clash of two of the three best in the Western Conference on Saturday night. Dallas came in winners of three in a row while Real had not been beaten in five.
Salt Lake's Strategy
   Jason Kreis started with his usual 4-4-2 diamond formation. The only surprise was Luis Gil starting as Alvaro Saborio's strike partner instead of Fabian Espindola. The two changes were in the back where Wingert replaced Russell and Schuler replaced the suspended Nat Borchers.
Dallas' Strategy
    Schellas Hyndman played a very defensive 4-5-1, almost playing for a nil-nil away result. Daniel Hernandez was rested, presumably for the US Open Cup Quarterfinal match v Real on Tuesday. In stepped the rookie and rarely used Bobby Warshaw into the holding midfield position. Two of the hottest wingers in MLS, Jackson and Brek Shea, played on the right and left respectively but each grew frustrated by the second half because of Dallas' inability to possess the ball and attack.
Dallas Sit Back and Real Dominate
    The match kicked off and was intense from the get go. In the 5th minute, Benitez swiped the legs from Saborio and a scuffle ensued.
    Shea attempted to get behind Beltran by making diagonal runs behind the back line but Dallas was unable to provide a suitable pass. Salt Lake executed their game plan of closing down the wide players, Shea and Jackson. Shea was frustrated, seen flailing his arms when the ball did not break for him. This culminated in the 70^th minute when he picked up a cynical yellow card and after was berating the official.

     Not only did Real dominate possession, but they were so quick to pressure the ball if they gave the ball back to Dallas. This pressure made Dallas uncomfortable and often resulted into a backward pass or a long ball to escape the pressure. With Dallas unable to cope with the pressure, Real had a possession advantage of 74% in the 22^nd minute and a 66% in the 71^st minute. Dallas was also unable to counter attack due to the deep defensive positions of their midfield. They dropped off deep allowing Real’s defenders to pass the ball around the halfway line. This deep position along with a lack of composure on the ball nixed any possibility of catching Real on the break.
    Luis Gil, the speedy 17 year old, found the most room behind Dallas' defense. Kreis used Gil to run behind the defense, especially in the left and right channels, while Saborio stayed up top occupying a defender. Gil created a couple of half chances but needs to show composure in front of goal and in his final ball. Saborio has the uncanny ability of winning every high or long ball. He can turn his back to goal and hold off a defender to receive a pass and hold up play. Salt Lake's midfield three of Grabavoy, Williams and Johnson were given the freedom to switch positions and move all over the pitch. However, they always find their way back to their diamond shape to defend.

Best Moments from the Match

     All the advantage in possession paid off two minutes after halftime. Saborio won a free kick on the edge of the area. Andy Williams stepped up and curled a shot over the wall. The shot should have been comfortable for Hartman to catch beat he lost concentration and let the ball slip through his hands. This gaffe rivaled Robert Green’s v US last summer and gave Salt Lake the much deserved 1-nil lead.

     Hartman was able to shake off the mistake five minutes later as Gil played a nifty one-two with Williams but was denied by the keeper.

     In the 85^th minute, Dallas had their only opportunity to equalize. Johnson and Wingert were defending on the left but fell asleep ball watching. Shea took advantage of their mistake and made a diagonal run into the penalty area. He received an inch perfect pass and his first touch set him up to score. However, he elected to square the ball to Jackson for an easier finish but Jackson slipped and could not get much power on the shot. The ball dribbled toward goal and Wingert was able to clear it off the line.

     Real added an insurance goal in the 93^rd minute off of a gift from Dallas. Warshaw made a blind back pass toward goal and Johnson intercepted. He gave the ball to the super sub Espindola who calmly clinched three points for the home side.

Conclusions
    Dallas were very disappointing. They added little to the game and came to the Rio Tinto with no desire to attack Real.
    On the other hand, Salt Lake should be commended. They always set out to play soccer and keep the ball on the ground to play a pass and move possession system. However, Real lack the final pass, since Javier Morales has been injured, and thus struggled to create chances on the night. Their winning goal was a gift from Kevin Hartman, but the soccer gods must have been smiling on the home side since they deserved a goal after all their attacking intent had failed to pay off.

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