The Real Salt Lake Reserves today continued their impressive recent form in a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Fire Reserves at the Quinn's Complex in Park City, Utah. Behind solid performances from almost every spot on the field, the RSL Reserves pressured the Chicago defense throughout the majority of the match in earning their third victory in as many games while also collecting their first clean sheet of the 2007 reserve campaign.
From the outset the majority of play was focused in the midfield, with each team trying to earn their chances through good ball movement and possession. The first good chance came in the 7th minute when Fire striker Floyd Franks hit a shot from just outside the penalty area that beat RSL 'keeper Chris Seitz but did not find the back of the net, as the ball ricocheted off the right post.
Despite several early chances for the Fire Reserves, it was Real that struck first thanks to a Chicago error in the backfield in the 16th minute. Chicago netminder Jon Busch made a poor clearance from just outside the top of his penalty area, the ball landing at the feet of RSL midfielder Chris Lancos, whose one-touch shot from 35 yards snuck inside the left post of the open net for a 1-0 Salt Lake lead.
The goal brought a boost in the pace and pressure of the match, with RSL newcomer Fabian Espíndola starting to show his creativity by taking possession and running at several Fire defenders. The Argentine striker, along with debuting countrymen defender Matías Mantilla and midfielder Javier Morales, gave the RSL fans a glimpse of what may be to come from the squad's newest acquisitions with solid play at all three stations of the field. The rest of the first half saw each team taking turns at goal, but despite several golden opportunities - including an open header by Franks on the doorstep in the closing minutes - neither team was able to finish and the halftime score stayed 1-0.
The second half started just as the first ended, with Espíndola being the creative force for the RSL Reserves. His efforts finally paid off in the 59th minute, as Espíndola collected a ball just outside the penalty box and, despite having two defenders marking him closely, laid the ball off to striker Chris Brown, whose resulting shot was deflected by Busch. Despite the great save, the Fire 'keeper was unable to keep RSL midfielder Jamie Watson from putting Real up 2-0 on the ensuing rebound.
Only six minutes later Real found net again as forward Kyle Brown earned a corner kick with a powerful shot that Busch had no choice but to parry over the endline. Midfielder Christian Jimenez took the following corner and found striker Chris Brown at the other edge of the penalty area, the veteran striker taking one touch to his left before sneaking a shot inside the far post for the third Salt Lake goal.
The rest of the game saw RSL continuing to dominate play, capped off by a fourth goal in the 90th minute. Kyle Brown collected a ball in the middle of the field and beat both his defender and Busch, finishing on an open net and giving the RSL Reserves their 11th goal during their current three-game winning streak.
The win improved Real Salt Lake to 3-3-0 (9 pts.) in MLS Reserve Division play, while the Chicago Fire Reserves dropped to 0-4-2 (2 pts.) and the bottom of the Reserve Division table. The Real Salt Lake Reserves can next be seen in action on Sunday, Sept. 2 in Los Angeles against the L.A. Galaxy Reserves, while the Chicago Fire Reserves will be visiting the New York Red Bulls Reserves on the same day.
Real Salt Lake Reserves (3-3-0):
GK-Chris Seitz (Kyle Reynish 74); D-Dustin Kirby, D- Matías Mantilla, D-Nik Besagno, D-Jack Stewart; M-Chris Lancos, M-Javier Morales (Christian Jimenez 50), M-Kenny Cutler, M-Jamie Watson (Steven Curfman 74); F-Fabian Espíndola (Kyle Brown 62), F-Chris Brown (Adam Acosta 74)
Substitutes Not Used:
Willis Forko
Chicago Fire Reserves (0-4-2):
GK Jon Busch; D-Bruno Menezes (Daniel Zwerling 77), D-Landy Mattison, D-Lee Zarzecki; M-Joe Zewe (Kenniel Martin 68), M-Justin Mapp (Jerson Monteiro 35), M-Thiago, M-Brian Plotkin, M-Mike Banner; F-Floyd Franks, F-Chad Barrett (Calen Carr 45)
Substitutes Not Used:
Nick Noble
Scoring Summary:
RSL - Chris Lancos 3 (unassisted) 16
RSL - Jamie Watson 3 (unassisted) 59
RSL - Chris Brown 2 (Christian Jimenez 3) 66
RSL - Kyle Brown 1 (unassisted) 90
Misconduct Summary:
CHI - Brian Plotkin (caution) 15
RSL - Jamie Watson (caution) 70
Referee:
Tyler Ploeger
Referee's Assistants:
Jeff Young, Carlos Palomino
Fourth Official:
Schuyler Pack
Attendance:
150
Weather:
Sunny and 80 degrees
