Cruising Passed Azul

With the top spot in their CONCACAF Champions League group on the line, Jason Kreis rolled out a pieced together squad of mostly reserves and defeated one of the most storied Mexican programs 3-1 in front of a sold-out Rio Tinto (arguably, most of the crowd were supporters of the away side) off of two strikes from Paulo Jr. and a finish from Collen Warner.

Paulo Jr.'s first goal came in the 43rd minute when he chipped the ball passed Azul keeper Yosgart Gutierrez for the game's opener. The play came off a nice through ball from Collen Warner. Paulo collected the pass while fighting off a defender and gently placed over an outstretched Gutierrez.

Paulo Jr. struck again on the other side of the half time break when he put away a Robbie Findley cross. Findley, a 66th minute replacement for Pablo Campos, received a ball down the wing from Tony Beltran and burned a pass across the six yard box, that Paulo Jr. pushed into the opposite side netting.

Real Salt Lake continued to go after the Mexican squad and it all paid off only moments later as Andy Williams played a perfect ball to a streaking Collen Warner, who easily put it in to the net in the 70th minute.

The game seemed to be getting out of hand for Cruz Azul but they were able to pull one back only seconds after RSL's third when Cesar Villaluz took advantage of some sloppy defense and beat goalkeeper Kyle Reynish for a goal.

Azul pushed forward from there but was never able to break the RSL back line that consisted of Tony Beltran, Rauwshan McKenzie, Nat Borchers and Will Johnson, who throughout the match went with a bend, never break approach that ultimately worked.

Salt Lake now needs to wait until February to resume Champions League play.

Man of the Match: Paulo Araujo Jr.'s two goals may have been a product of being in the right place at the right time, but what struck me is the composure of his finishes; something that often lacks in RSL's attackers. So for that, and his all around hustle, the man of the match goes to Paulo Jr.

Karma is a Killer

The stretcher crew deserves Man of the Match honors. (Photo by Ryan Beatse)

I think Jason Kreis said it best when the smoke cleared, "I think tonight was a microcosm of everything that's wrong with our game." A good indicator of that, the stretcher crew doing more work than the visiting side, Panamanian champions (and sad saps) Arabe Unido.

Real Salt Lake came out of their first CONCACAF Champions League contest with a well-deserved 2-1 victory Wednesday night, led by Alvaro Saborio. What transpired during the match made it one of the most memorable, if not downright sickening, displays from any squad ever to grace Rio Tinto Stadium. And it all got going no less than 15 minutes in.

Despite having all of the early possession and flow, RSL fell behind early on a nicely orchestrated counter-attack from the visiting side. In the 13th minute, Arabe Unido captain, Armando Cooper, received a pass just outside the area, deked Nat Borchers and snapped off a shot. Just as Cooper mad the strike, Borchers slid in to block it. Unfortunately, the ball deflected off Borchers, only changing the shot's direction, leaving Nick Rimando helpless to watch the ball flutter past him. 1-0 Ababe Unido, and then the nonsense began.

The Panamanian champs started to become chippy and started to waste time right after the opening goal. Goal kicks that took a minute or two to set-up, embellished fouls and late tackles. The latter finally got Arabe in trouble in the 29th minute, when defender Nahil Carroll came in studs-up on a late tackle on Kyle Beckerman. Match Official, Paul Ward of Canada, quickly whistled the foul and rushed over toward Carroll. After fumbling through his pocket for about 20 or 30 seconds Ward finally produced an extraordinarily bright red card, much to the surprise of most of the pretty modest size, but boisterous, crowd at Rio Tinto.

Real Salt Lake turned up the heat on Arabe after the dismissal, pushing forward for the equalizer which came in the 45th minute off of the head of Alvaro Saborio.

Because of the opening goal, Arabe Unido had packed seven and eight men behind the ball and dare RSL to make long crosses and shots toward goal, and Chris Wingert provided the perfect cross to a streaking Saborio just before half time.

Though there were strange occurrences in the first 45, nothing I have ever seen could have prepared me for the second half. Here is the line for the second half: 10 cards shown, a half dozen players taken off on a stretcher (only to return moments later), nine or 10 Arabe Unido players going to the ground like they were shot at close range, 8 minutes of injury time and one ball blasted into the south parking lot of Rio Tinto by a frustrated Arabe player (who was ejected for the action).

It was the most frustrating, bizarre and, to be honest, entertaining 53 minutes of soccer I have ever seen. The message from Arabe's coaches at the break was obvious, lay on the ground and roll around like you are on fire. FORCE THE STRETCHER. And they executed that plan to embarrassing perfection. Every time a whistle was blown, or a tackle was made, or, in some cases, the wind blew a little bit, an Arabe player was on the ground and their coaches and the busy stretcher crew were on their way out to the field. It was beyond ridiculous. At one point a shot deflected off of an Arabe player's hip and the guy grabbed and his face and threw himself to the ground. It was comical, and very sad at the same time. Miraculously, in every case, the players were able to come right back on after being carried of by the stretcher.

(Photo by Ryan Beatse)

This carried on well past the 90 minute mark, but justice finally came to fruition in minute 95, when Nelson Gonzalez received a ball in the box and was absolutely trucked over by a Unido defender. Penalty was given and Saborio stepped up and slotted it in. Arabe was livid, and RSL could breathe a collecte sigh of relief.

Irony reared its ironic head moments later. Wingert went in on a 50/50 ball with an Arabe player who was racked in the challenge. The guy was really hurt, but the coach just kept yelling for him to get up. Time was ticking, and Arabe no longer had the point. The stretcher crew stood ready but Arabe didn't want it anymore. Sweet sweet Karma.       

2-1 Win...GOOD GUYS

Jesus Padilla!

After a disappointing trip to Dallas last week, Real Salt Lake was looking to to bounce back with a win against league doormats, Chivas USA on Saturday. Things did not go exactly to plan however, as they could only manage a 1-1 draw in front of a sold out Rio Tinto Stadium.

Ned Grabavoy, the 62nd minute replacement for Kyle Beckerman, made his mark on the match immediately, as he redirected a wayward corner kick clearance with a volley from 19 yards out into the top corner of Chivas' goalkeeper Dan Kennedy's goal in the 67th minute. After an even, back and forth affair for the first hour, RSL finally had the moment they needed to carry forward for three points.

That feeling would be short-lived.

In minute 71, Jesus Padilla, who had literally just stepped onto the pitch, took a ball through the midfield unmarked and lined up a shot on RSL's net. The blast went straight at Nick Rimando, but the all star selection was not able to handle it and fumbled away the equalizer.

Real Salt Lake was never able to get any significant chances from that moment on, and had to settle with a frustrating, if not all too deserved draw.

Man of the Match: Javier Morales/ Will Johnson. After the tying goal (and for the most part before it) it seemed the home side was tring to force everything and they were getting very frustrated. This RSL midfield pair, however, kept pushing and doing all of the right things.  

Fireworks From the Home Side

After the frustrating draw to San Jose last week, Real Salt Lake was looking to light up New England Saturday night and reaffirm their position as one of the top sides in Major League Soccer. To say they pulled that off would be a vast understatement, as RSL struck for five against a Revs squad that was more or less an animated punching bag this evening, while New England was barely able to muster a whimper in the 5-0 drubbing.

Things got going for Salt Lake in the 27th minute, as Fabian Espindola collected a Robbie Russel lob at the top of the 18. Espi made a brilliant move to the side of New England's Emmanuel Osei and made a sliding strike just inside the box, which moved past Matt Reis.

Although New England looked decent early, the goal deflated them and Real started to impose their will  for the rest of the way, especially Javier Morales, who was in a class of his own on the evening. Morales put himself on the stat sheet just before the first half ended, when he lifted a brilliant ball off a restart to Jamison Olave on the back post and, as usual, Olave knocked it home. RSL had grabbed the game by the throat heading into the locker room, and would not let up after that.

One of the big stories leading into the match was the return of Robbie Findley from the World Cup in South Africa. The 19,000+ fans didn't have to wait too long to see their favorite striker, as Findley was inserted for Espindola at the beginning of the second half. Findley had a solid showing, looked very fit, had a few great chances, including one he put away (RSL's 5th) in the 85th minute.

The match, however, belonged to Javi Mo, who absolutely dominated in the middle of the park and really dictated this match for both sides. He was even able to add another helper in the second half, as he streaked down the sideline in the 57th minute and feed Alvaro Saborio with a low ball across goal, which Sabo flicked in to the net with his heal. Saborio also put away Robbie Russell cross in the 52nd minute.

Saturday's performance was an absolute peak in form for the Salt Lake side, as they commanded play from most, if not all 90 minutes.

Man of the Match: Javier Morales was nothing short of a super wizard this evening, everything he did was pure magic as he continued to build on a great 2010 campaign.

Notes: One of the assistant referees was named Elmo Quisenberry, odd name, but he did an okay job...Kyle Beckerman was still nowhere to be found on the bench for Real...and should be said that Nick Rimando looks better than he ever has these last couple of matches, he is jumping out of the stadium on every save or grab

Not exactly earth-shaking

It's been labeled the beautiful game, and that it is, but far too often we see teams come into matches not to win, they just play not to lose. Rio Tinto was treated to a shining example of that sort of nonsense on Friday night the San Jose "eight-in-the-box" Earthquakes played., as the game ended in a 0-0 draw.

That's not to say that the home side, Real Salt Lake, doesn't get their share of the blame, as they left a lot opportunities waiting on the door step. The most memorable, of course, being the gorgeous cross from Alvaro Saborio (criminally replaced by Pablo Campos in the 68th minute) to the back-post right on to a Fabian Espindola run, which Espi inexplicably put wide. That, among other chances, gave the 16,000+ supporters this evening plenty of fuel for frustration.

Despite the negative style, San Jose was able to break a few times on the counter and had two or three walk ins against Nick Rimando. Rimando was up to the task every time though, parrying each chance away and salvaging the point out of the otherwise disappointing evening.

Man of the Match: Nicky Rimando, GK - Rimando was on his game tonight and was an absolute rock between the pipes, ending the match with eight massive saves, four of which were sprawling and dramatic.

Notes: Despite dominating possession and the run of play RSL was out-shot 14-13, including a shocking 8-1 shots on goal...Kyle Beckerman missed another match due to a foot injury, Ned Grabavoy started in his place...RSL has installed (at least for this match) a pop-tunes cover group called "The Party Crashers" in the south stands to play before and after the match, selections ranged from Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" to Cameo's "Word Up".

Bring your green hat, we're going streaking!

Real Salt Lake pushed their winning streak to 5 straight Saturday night (most in the storied? history of the Salt Lake side) as they put the beating down on the Wiz (worst name in the league) of Kansas City, 4-1 off goals from Espindola, Saborio, Russel and Grabavoy.
The party got started right in the 31st minute as Fabian Espindola put down his third goal of the 2010 campaign off a brilliant set up from elder RSL statesman and consummate pro Andy Williams. Williams received the ball in an advanced position and feigned a couple of shot attempts. As the Kansas City defense started to back off, Williams found Espindola running on the left wing and the RSL striker  was able to slot it past KC keeper Jimmy Nielsen's and into the far post netting.

The Wizards looked like they were in for a long night when only three minutes later they were digging an Alvaro Saborio strike out of the back of the net. Espindola got loose on the left wing again and chipped the ball toward Nielsen, who totally fumbled the save. Saborio came flying in and poked it past the beaming blond KC keep.

RSL seemed to be in total control as the half was coming to a close, but a fatal mistake by Nat Borchers allowed the Wizards to sneak back into the match. After Nick Rimando gathered a long ball attempt and played around with it for too long he played it out to Borchers, who also was way too casual with the clearance. Former US national team stand out Josh Wolff pounced on the nonchalant play and slid a pass across the goal mouth to a wide open Davy Arnaud (who was sent off in the second half for being totally ridiculous throughout the whole match) and Arnaud blasted it past Rimando in the 42nd minute.

Despite the breakdown in the back, RSL was able to bounce back in the second half and regain control of the match. A number of scoring chances came and went for the home side that were never converted, but Kansas City never looked to be much of a threat. RSL did strike the killing blow, however, in the 86th after a hard foul just outside the box, which resulted in Arnaud's dismissal. The goal came off of a volley from second half sub Robbie Russell. Javier Morales blasted a shot the skipped net-ward but Nielsen was able to get a boot to it at the last minute. Russell was there on the follow up and put a pretty one timer in.

As the game was winding down, Ned Grabavoy was able to knock in his first goal of the season, when he took the ball off of a bumbling KC defender and easily put it past Nielsen to make the final tally 4-1 for the team who remains undefeated at home in 2010.

 

...And Saborio Is His Name

After weeks and months of everyone around the Real Salt Lake raving about the Costa Rican super-striker, Major League Soccer was officially introduced to its best kept secret on Thursday night as Alvaro Saborio notched two top-shelf goals, leading his club to a 3-1 revenge romp over Western Conference foes (more like bitter enemies) Houston Dynamo.

On a day when his running partner at the top, Robbie Findley, was eating up all of the headlines for his inclusion in the 30 man US World Cup roster, Saborio stole the show with a dominant performance which he started off in the 24th minute, picking up a Javi-Mo poke and burying from just inside the penalty area.

After Morales fought off two defenders for possession, he was able to do just enough to get it to Saborio who caulked back and put it past Pat Onstad, putting RSL up 2-0.


The Costa Rican international was in no way finished though. In the 61st minute Saborio redirected a Morales restart with his head and past Onstad for his second of the night, tallying his second header goal in as many weeks.

The big question coming into the match is whether or not Findley was going to show some of that late 2009 form on the eve of the US men's team training camp. Findley answered some concern early with a well finished header from a Kyle Beckerman cross in the 3rd minute, but, on a whole, seemed to be still over thinking things, as he missed two easy one on one chances that RSL is so used to seeing him bury.

Houston, who won the last meeting between the sides early in the season 2-1, were completely outclassed on the night, managing only one tally on a broken defensive play in the late stages of the game.

Salt Lake looks to continue this hot streak next Saturday as they go on the road to face Chivas USA in Home Depot Stadium.

Man of the Match: Alvaro Saborio was simply dominant tonight, not only with his two goals but with his athleticism, his touch and his instinct tonight. The man looks to be about as "on" as a forward in this league can be right now, Major League Soccer is officially on notice.

Notes: 12, 945 fans were on hand for the midweek affair, and they were rocking, easily the loudest crowd of the year...Will Johnson was back in the lineup after missing a few weeks because of injury...Brian Ching came on late as a sub, his first action since being injured in week two.