Real Salt Lake 2- LA Galaxy 2

Pre-match rant

So first the good things, visits from the media in the parking lot, The RCB got visits not only from the boys of Park City TV, but rumor is that some members of Scotland’s media were in town spending time with Kenny Deuchar and stopped by to chat with those at the tailgate (something that is not allowed in Scotland, where they do their drinking indoors). A huge crowd, it was nice to see a very large crowd at RES, and earlier in the day at the Gateway I noticed a lot more RSL gear than any other local sports team, in fact more than all other sports teams put together. It appears much to some cynics dismay, that RSL is gaining a foothold in the local community. Imagine the bandwagon when the team starts winning.

Now the bad, listen I get how exciting it is to see a superstar like David Beckham, I am happy that RES was filled with 25,000 people to see a soccer match, but please do not assume that you can just go sit wherever you want. I know it is a big stadium, but please do not sit in the front row of a section when you don’t have tickets to do so, even worse please do not act surprised when people who actually show up for every match want you to move out of their seats. Understand that big matches bring big crowds, just sit in the seats you bought tickets for, if they are crappy seats, then buy better ones next time.

The first half

Well would RSL continue to play well at home? Or would the Galaxy with their superstars dominate? Real took the pitch and did not look anything like the team that got beat down by DC United last weekend, they controlled the ball, attacked and had a decent shot on goal within the first 3 minutes. The Galaxy looked a bit surprised by the controlling midfield and the pace of several RSL players, but two quick corner kicks and no real attempts on goal from them. A super ball played into Espindola (happy birthday) by Morales and a great finish finds the back of the net and it is a 1-0 RSL lead only 6 minutes into the match.

As the match restarts RSL continues to attack and LA counters, in the 11^th minute Buddle goes down with an injury and has to be replaced early by Gordon. RSL continues to force that the majority of play is done in the LA half of the pitch, something that they did in their last home match against San Jose in the LHUSOC, and a few weeks ago against DC United, both wins. LA really is playing on their heels, in part due to the fact that they have a number of players that are playing in positions that are not the norm for them, and RSL is taking advantage of it. Another beautiful cross from Javier Morales is headed into the goal by Kenny “Dr. Goal” Deuchar to give RSL a 2-0 lead on a great header that beats the keeper. Could another blow out be in the works?

For a few more minutes RSL continues to attack, and LA tries to play some long balls to Landon but to no avail, the first twenty minutes sees 70-75% played on the LA half of the pitch which is a good thing for RSL, but the Galaxy were not giving up yet. LA stated getting the ball into the RSL half of the pitch more often as it appears that RSL started playing a bit more defensively minded. One of the most impressive shots and goals of the year comes from who else David Beckham, about 30 yards out from goal, that ball delivered at his right foot, he rockets a shot past the diving Nik Rimando. This one will be the likely winner of the goal of the week, wow it really was a thing of beauty, 2-1 RSL. LA is rejuvenated by the goal and attack into the box just a minute later, and RSL is lucky to not have given up another one as Beckham plays a ball into the box with two possible targets, but RSL finds another way to skin the cat, and clear the ball. Just a couple more minutes later a foul on Brandon Mc Donald gives LA a free kick from just a couple yards outside of the box, anyone wanna guess who gets to take this one? OK the guy has made a very good career out of shots just like this, and we all could see the writing on the wall, and were not surprised by the ability of Beckham to finish this one 2-2 in the 40^th minute. RSL tries to answer a couple minutes later first on a great pass by Kyle Beckerman to Kenny Deuchar who puts the ball into the back of the net, but the flag is up. Bad call, and I will comment on that later. RSL again challenges on a shot by Andy Williams that challenged Cronin to make a save as RSL is back into the attack, but the corner doesn’t result in much. RSL keeps attacking but you can see some frustration from the earlier blown call, and then just minutes later a LA handball is missed on the edge of the box, which could have been called for either a dangerous free kick or a penalty kick. Time expires as the match is tied at 2-2.

The second half

From the very start of the second half, RSL seems to want to finish the match the way they started by playing an attacking style and trying to control the midfield. A super attack by Dema who passes to Andy Williams, shot on goal and a great kick save by Cronin keeps the score tied at 2’s. LA counters and has a couple good chances on goal, a save by Rimando, and great team defense gets the ball clear, and LA has nothing to show from the effort except another RSL counter attack, which ends with Cronin making another save, he sure has earned his money tonight. Another questionable call as Espindola is taken down from behind on the edge of the box with no one between him and the keeper. The match really turned into a more even battle, as both teams get chances but RSL has had the better of the chances and a slight advantage in possession, nowhere near the domination of the first half. Nik Rimando was forced to work hard in the second half and was up to the task as LA had more shots and more shots on goal in the second half, but none of them would find the back of the net. Espindola again attacks, is fouled but continues his attack and again Cronin prevents the game winner from going in. It is interesting that while RSL made a number of changes in the second half (Findley for Beltran in the 74^th minute, Movsisyan for Espindola in the 79^th minute, and Cordoba for Williams in the 90^th minute), LA showed their lack of depth and did not make a single change other than brining on Gordon for an injured Buddle in the first half. Both teams played fast and open in the second half and it was entertaining to say the least, neither team was able to take advantage of their chances and end result was a 2-2 draw. Better than many pundits would have predicted, but for the fans it was an entertaining match, but RSL was the better team and should have been able to get the win. I do think that the clearest example was the blown call in the first half as Beckerman passed a great ball to Deuchar who put it into the back of the net, and then the officials flag came up to indicate offsides, I am sorry but with lines on the pitch it was clear that he was onside, and this mistake was huge.

After match thoughts

So am I the only one who thinks MLS should not allow officials who live in team market officiating in matches involving those teams? Worse yet, would you allow an official who is a fan of a team be involved in matches of that team? Even worse an official who on the largest stage in soccer has been involved with controversy and mistakes? Well this is MLS and the officials get beat up a lot, but I for one plan on voicing my opposition to Kevin Scott being involved in future Galaxy matches, is he to blame for the draw no, but there have been enough calls missed or close calls given for one to question the objectivity of the head official and could be argued that it may have impacted the final result. The proof that the best team doesn’t always win in soccer is everywhere and this weekend both the San Jose vs. Dallas and RSL matches prove it once again.

I am very impressed with the efforts of Olave, who is a brute, but a very talented brute, it will be interesting to see what happens on the RSL back line when all the defenders are healthy, because in two matches Tony Beltran also has looked very good and his pace is great when attacking up the side. Nik Rimando is still a stud, he is getting better support from the back line, but he is still the anchor of the defense. I have to wonder if it is time to buy some new shoes for Yura, who seems to be stumbling over the pitch, his own feet, or the ball far too often this season when he is in the box with the ball. I still would like to see Tino Nunez get a chance; he had a couple good minutes in the Open Cup match, and got the assist on the 4^th RSL goal.

Captain bastard

So after the match a few people stopped by the Bayou for a couple drinks and something to eat, and nothing could be more disturbing to a relaxing situation than seeing your hated foes (OK only hated on the pitch, and in Landycakes case when he isn’t in the red, white and blue) walk in and take a seat a few yards away. It seems that a group of LA and RSL players were on their way to enjoy some food and drinks. It appears that great minds think alike, so the question was what drink to send over to Landon? Something fruity? Something feminine? Ah heck why not go with something that says how you really feel, so it was that Landon was delivered a Squatter’s Capt. Bastards. Yes, his waitress made sure to let him know the name of the beer. It was funny, and will be one of the highlights of the evening.

About 10 minutes later the rest of his group showed up and included Golden Balls himself, now I am going to make some folks mad but I have to give a lot of credit to Beckham, first both goals were incredible, but how many superstar’s would stay in their hotel suite instead of hanging out in a public place with his teammates? Now comes the part that really tells me something about his character, he was approached by a fan and asked if he would step outside for a picture or two, and he very politely said, “No”. Now before you people go off about him being a snob, and not appreciating the fans, listen to his reason “I am here with my team and would prefer not to”. That is called class, that is a guy who has the spotlight on him almost every minute of every day, a person who is used to crowds of fans everywhere he goes, but on this night he chose to be a guy on a team. While there are plenty who questioned why he is here, but one thing became very clear to me, he is here to play soccer and he knows it is a team sport. I know this, I can now count myself among the Beckham fans, but do we have a great way to harass him when the Galaxy are back in town for either the playoffs or Open Cup, hopefully we won’t have to wait until next year.

Well to top the night off was one of RSL’s favorite son’s Kyle Beckerman and Chris Wingert strolling in, and I can say it was a great honor to buy him a beer, even if he does drink Corona.

OFF MY SOAPBOX

This entry was posted on May 5, 2008 at 1:35 am and is filed under The soapbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.