With 10 days off leading up to the FC Dallas match, Jason Kreis' men finally had the time needed to acclimate with the new coaching philosophies and tactical formations that he had been hoping to implement. With revenge on the minds of the players for the last-minute, home-opening debacle that ended in a 2-2 draw, the perfect pitch of Pizza Hut Park made for no excuses for RSL.
With no changes for the men in white since the last match in Colorado, RSL faced a much different FC Dallas team that was missing Kenny Cooper and Ramon Nunez from the starting 11, but saw the return of temperamental "El Pescadito" Carlos Ruiz.
RSL were injury-struck in the fifth minute, with Carey Talley injured in an awkward challenge with Ruiz at the midfield stripe, one that could leave him on the sidelines for 4-6 weeks. Chris Lancos was inserted to fill the big shoes of Talley in the defensive midfield slot and was immediately tested by Dallas' 4-3-3 formation.
The SLC club looked both confused and lethargic, trying to figure out how to contain both Dax McCarty and Carlos Toja, but it was Arturo Alvarez skipping around Jack Stewart with a quick two-touch combo that found him with space into the box. Hitting a rocket into the far post side net, goalkeeper Nick Rimando had no chance and it was quickly 1-0 in favor of FC Dallas.
Kreis made the necessary tactical switches during halftime, enabling RSL to at least look dangerous in the second half. With Atiba Harris being pulled down in the box by Alex Yi's shirt-pull, Freddy Adu stepped up to the penalty spot. With Jeff Cunningham being substituted only minutes earlier, Adu calmly slotted the ball past Dario Sala's right side for his first strike in a RSL uniform, knotting the score up a 1-1.
FC Dallas defender Chris Gbandi would finish the scoring with a bomb of a goal, nailing the upper V far post from 20 yards outside the near touchline. Celebrating what would be the final goal of the match, Gbandi could possibly have hit a candidate for goal of the year, as the game-winner gave Dallas the 2-1 home win.
The next morning saw changes on the horizon, with Jeff Cunningham - he of 93 career goals and the all-time leading scorer in RSL history, with 19 - heading to Toronto FC in exchange for striker Alecko Eskandarian, a first-round draft pick and much-needed salary cap relief. While the trade came as a shock to many, the important thing to remember is that to get quality, you have to give up quality. This blockbuster trade affords that, but the loss of Cunningham (a hit man and showman unlike any other in MLS) does hurt a club that has been left needing in the goal department. I mean, Cunningham has either scored or assisted on nearly 50 percent of RSL's goals in the last year plus. What the trade ultimately does is free up enough under the salary cap to make the necessary roster moves to add a starter or two to put this club on the right track, which is ultimately the playoffs.
After traveling to Denver and Dick's Sporting Goods Park the day before for a kick-around, RSL fielded a team knowing that in only a couple more days, they'd be back in action in league play.
With Seitz in goal for the Open Cup match, Torres at left back, a Pope-Besagno partnership in the middle and Kipre manning the right back position, RSL looked strong throughout the first half, as they tried to become one of the final six MLS teams in the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round.
Klein was out on the right flank, Mehdi manning a little bit more of the left side along with creative midfielder responsibilities and Chris Lancos picking up where he left off Sunday in Dallas with another strong performance in the defensive midfield slot vacated by the loss of Talley. Adu pushed up on the left side in a 4-3-3 formation with Atiba Harris in the middle and Chris Brown inserted above Klein on the right with room to roam.
The match was a highly-testy affair with Atiba being the man in the middle of it from the beginning. Not only did Zach Thornton learn early that he was going to be challenged on every cross, but the tandem of Rapids defenders Ugo Ihemelu and Stephen Keel also found out the hard way, with Ugo earning a retaliatory yellow for a cheap shot to the back of a non-looking Harris. Good combination passes allowed the freedom of the outsides backs to attack, affording many crosses from a team that had been lacking in that department. With the only Rapids opportunities coming off set-piece counter-attacks, Real Salt Lake went into the break even and scoreless.
The golden rule, according to soccer 101, is that the first five minutes and last five minutes of the half are the most dangerous and as players, you must stay tuned in mentally to not concede soft goals. RSL learned the hard way two minutes into the second half, with Rapids forward Conor Casey banging into Seitz for the second time of the night, but this time with no call from the referee. While most of RSL stopped, thinking there was a foul and whistle, Jacob Peterson latched onto a side volley that hit side net from about 10 yards out to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
It wasn't until Chris Klein found space down the left flank did RSL have a chance to get back into the game. Spinning back towards the top of the 18-yard box, Klein found Mehdi for a nice give-and-go combination that allowed Klein space to fire off a bending, far-post shot that beat the outstretched Thornton, knotting the game at 1-1.
Looking like they were destined for another Open Cup overtime, the Rapids' Nick La Brocca dispossessed Ballouchy and found Conor Casey just inside the Real Salt Lake defensive half of the field. Turning and finding a sprinting Jacob Peterson on the right flank, Casey wasted no time putting him in. With no chance of anyone coming close to catching him and Seitz doing a great job of cutting down the angle, Peterson hit a perfectly-placed shot far post, out of Seitz' reach and in, RSL once again finding a way to drop a game in the waning seconds.
Eskandarian and RSL now have an important match at Toyota Park in Chicago on Sunday, nationally broadcast by the great Spanish announcers on TeleFutura, looking to get the 2007 season back on track. Mental toughness and commitment to fight for each other will be key if RSL hope to win.
Brian Dunseth, the former Captain of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team, who scored the game-winning goal in Real Salt Lake's first-ever win in its home opener in 2005 vs. rival Colorado, can be heard each week on KALL 700 AM the Zone, providing analysis during RSL game broadcasts and co-hosting the pre- and post-game shows for RSL home games. A nine-year veteran of MLS play, Dunseth is now a licensed realtor for The Bringhurst Group in Salt Lake City, and looks forward to your feedback at brian@slchouses.com.
