RSL Come From Behind for Draw
Real Salt Lake came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw in its home opener Saturday.
Colorado struck first against the run of play when Deshorn Brown opened his MLS account in the 37th minute.
Salt Lake was lifted by Alvaro Saborio’s 80th minute equalizer, but the home side was unable to convert a second and take the win.
Kyle Beckerman took Salt Lake’s first good chance at goal in the 3rd minute with a 23+ yard strike that sent Matt Pickens flying to deflect it over the bar. The resulting corner wasn’t converted into anything, though Pickens collided with Kwame Watson-Siriboe on the play and had to leave the match with a broken right forearm.
Colorado would get early chances as well. Drew Moor found Atiba Harris with a pass over the top of the back line in the 18th minute and found his forward inside the box wide open. Harris tried to one touch the shot, which skirted just wide of a diving Nick Rimando and the goal.
Harris threatened again from the left side in the 24th minute when he drove into the box and tried to beat Rimando near post. The 100-career-shutout man was able to make the save and keep the sheet clean.
Beckerman nearly got on the board in the 31st minute when a ball played over the top found Robbie Findley. The defense was able to catch up, but the stretched defense wasn’t able to account for the Real Salt Lake captain who made a trailing run and took a shot from outside the box. He missed just wide left of the goal.
Colorado eventually got on the board in the 37th minute when Chris Schuler had the ball stolen from him at the back by Deshorn Brown, who took a couple touches into the box and past Rimando to give his side the lead.
Sebastian Velasquez nearly got it back in the 44th minute when Alvaro Saborio was able to hold up possession in the box and eventually found him 18 yards from goal. The second-year midfielder put a strong hooking shot about a yard off frame.
In spite of both teams’ best effort, the first half ended with Brown’s strike as the lone goal.
The second half started with a couple hard fouls and few credible chances.
This changed in the 64th minute when a scramble in the box left Tony Beltran charging on an open ball 12 yards away from goal and hitting it hard at a charging keeper, who saved it off his face.
Saborio got another chance in the 70th minute when he danced with a ball over the top and found an opening to fire from 20 yards out. He got a bit too far under the bouncing ball and put it into the stands.
Saborio evened the match up in the 80th minute when he took a pass from Plata inside the right side of the box, and put it into the back of the net.
Saborio nearly did it again in the 83rd minute when Ned Grabavoy lobbed in a ball that Devon Sandoval flicked to his Costa Rican strike partner. Saborio took a shot that left the Colorado defense frozen but flew harmlessly over the bar.
Rimando was forced to make a few key saves in the final minutes to keep the match level, but the home side was unable to find a winning goal.
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This comment will test the length of what can be posted… consider yourself warned!
The sky is falling comment
I know it is only the third match of the season, but I have noticed a disturbing trend and I wonder when coach Kreis will make a change, more specifically, when we he pull Findley from the starting XI?
I ask this because of Real’s 3 goals this season, the earliest one has been scored at the 71st minute. (other two goals scored in the 80th and 85th minutes) So If (and only If the trend continues) how long till a change is made?
I think everyone will agree that Findley is trying hard, but I think it has been fairly obvious that Plata has played better in the minutes he has been given and here is my official reasoning for the replacing Findley with Plata:
Plata seems to play the ball at his feet much better then Findley. With Findley, we seem to want to keep firing balls over the top for him to run onto, but so far nothing has materialized from doing so. Because of this, I feel Plata fits more into what we are doing with our possession based style of play.
I think putting Findley in as the sub at the 65th minute will help him do 2 things
1 everyone on the defensive side of the ball will be more winded, making his speed that much more effective
2 If he is more effective and is able to score, I feel this would improve his confidence, then continually starting but not showing anything for his effort.
The arguments against replacing Findley (yes I have actually thought of the counter arguments and I am just not voicing my ideas into a vacuum!)
Findley understands the system better- Naturally playing in the same system and coach that he was playing in before his European vacation will give you a natural advantage. This being said however, if Plata is playing this well with his limited knowledge of the system, how much better will he be if he was getting the bulk of the minutes to start. He is younger and I think right now his ceiling is higher then where Findley is and could be.
Ego- Coach Kreis understands strikers, as a former striker himself, and I trust him to play the situation right. If taking Findley out of the starting XI would damage his ego and confidence beyond repair, then keeping him in the starting XI makes since. However, with the team mantra of the team first, and knowing that Real is able to make the hard decisions necessary to be successful. (which is one reason I love this club, the moves over the off season had to be done, but how many clubs would be to scared to pull it off) Real can not continue waiting till the second half to have Soborio score all of their goals. This will naturally change during the course of the long season, but I would rather give us the best ability to change this now, rather then down the road.
I apologize for the long comment, but I feel like I had to get this off my chest. Am interested to hear everyone’s ideas about this and Go Real!