Looking at the starting line-ups you wouldn’t think that Real Salt Lake would be in any danger of losing in their USOC qualification game against Seattle Sounders FC, but then again if you paid attention to the game you probably also know that RSL is notoriously horrible on the road. Seattle started only 3 regular starters and had only 5 guys that had seen any significant minutes thus far this season on the pitch to start the game. RSL’s staring line-up had players that had seen some extensive time this season with the exception of keeper Chris Seitz. The line-ups should have favored RSL early but with Seattle playing solid defense and then attacking with long ball counter attacks it didn’t take them long to put the pressure on RSL.
In less than ten minutes of game time Seattle had already given themselves several great scoring opportunities and just seemed to lack that final touch. Seattle mostly started attacking on the right side after their first two attempts down the left were met by Robbie Russell and Jamison Olave. The duo combined to prevent SSFC from creating chances down that side. Meanwhile on the right side of the backline for RSL where David Horst and Tony Beltran, both young players and neither of which possess the speed to keep up with the likes of Sebastien Le Toux and Sanna Nyassi.
Seattle continually looked to that side with their counter attacks and it finally paid off for them when Tony Beltran was called for a questionable penalty in the 22nd minute. Le Toux was able to beat Sietz on the ensuing kick and Seattle went up early. Two minutes later Seattle would strike again on a counter down the right side with Le Toux finding Nyassi in behind the defense on a 3v3 break for SSFC. Nyassi scored and Seattle seemed to have the game wrapped up only 25 minutes in.
Real struck back about five minutes later on a great solo effort by Will Johnson. Johnson received the ball on the left side and after cutting it left and then back right he was able to get off a great shot to the near post, beating Seattle keeper Chris Eylander. This would mark the first goal RSL has scored on the road in 2009 and seemed to give RSL some confidence as they started stringing together some passes and getting off a few more shots. It helped that Seattle was playing with only 10 men at this point as Taylor Graham was on the side-lines getting some blood cleaned off his shirt. The man advantage almost paid off for RSL as they were rewarded with a couple of corners but the only result they where able to get from them was a Jamison Olave yellow card. Olave went up against Eylander on a head attempt and when he saw he wasn’t going to be able to get to the ball he raised his hand hoping to duplicate Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal from the 1986 world cup. The ref caught him though and a yellow card was shown.
With that the first half ended and RSL found themselves down just 2-1. Despite their poor play they also found that they still had a chance to win this thing if they could turn their play around in the second half. With that in mind it was no surprise when they came out attacking early and nearly set themselves up with the equalizer just seconds in. Will Johnson again found himself open for a shot but unfortunately Eylander was able to get a hand on it keeping it out of the goal. Seattle then took control as their counter attack also nearly paid off. Le Toux found himself inside the 6 yard box unmarked but wasn’t able to redirect it properly.
Seattle kept their defensive form after that and looked content to go back to what worked so well for them early. By playing some good defense in the middle of the field they were able to play some quick counters and RSL found themselves down 4-1 in the blink of an eye. The first goal was created by none other than Sebastien Le Toux who seemed content to play the role of distributor for the second time. He found Stephen King in front of the goal and King finished it off beautifully sliding his shot past an RSL defender and into the back of the net for a 3-1 lead. Minutes later Seattle would score again, this time on another unmarked chance from Le Toux right in front of the goal. He was able to get his foot on the ball this time and managed to slot the ball past Seitz. With the 4-1 lead Seattle started to bunker in and coach Kreis, after attempting to get a few back quickly by subbing in Yura Movsisyan, sensed the futility and inserted rookies Jean Alexandre and Rafael Cox for the final 20 minutes.
There were few positives and a lot of negatives to take away from this game for RSL . Horst had possible his worst game for RSL and that is counting the own goal he scored last year in a friendly against Santos. Beltran also was exposed, proving to be more of an attacking player and not so much a defender. With the two of them starting the game on the same side of the pitch it’s no wonder Seattle chose their side to attack.
Luis Miguel Escalada also was caught not focusing on several plays and RSL’s midfield struggled to pass the ball and control it through out much of the game. The only players who really seemed to be contributing positively for RSL where Will Johnson and Robbie Findley who created chances with their passing and dribbling efforts throughout the game, not to mention Robbie Russell who played some great defense on the left wing. Yura also played well but wasn’t given much to work with in less than half an hour of game time. Another positive for RSL is that this was the last game on Turf they will have to play for almost two months.
Now it is time to see how they do when on grass for road games. Bring on the cRapids!
-Truhlk
Boz Match Fotoz 4.25.09...RSL 6-0 NER
Boz's RSL Art Gallery II
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