July 2008
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Jun		Aug »
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

Archive for July 29, 2008

Real Salt Lake 2- Toronto FC 1 match recap & photos

July 29, 2008 by f4denz.

OK, my attempt at trying to take pictures, watch a great match, and blog (semi live) was a bit of a debacle. So I am about to watch the match again and I will post my observations and thoughts about the match. I will also pick out the best 5-6 pictures to post and I will provide a link to photobucket where I will post more pictures from the match. It will also be interesting to see if soccer pundits around the world jump on the Real Salt Lake bandwagon, I have started to see RSL ranked as high as 3^rd in recent MLS power rankings.

So the starting lineup was a bit different with Yura and Robbie up front, Kyle, Dema, Javi, and Kenny Cutler in the midfield, and the best back line in MLS with Joy, Wingert, Olave, and Borchers, with Nick Rimando in the back. Rumor was that TFC would be playing Chad Barrett, but he wasn’t in the starting lineup and not even on the 18 man roster, it was the very young Abdus Ibrahim at forward, he is just 16 years old.

RSL is doing a nice job of figuring out how to play against TFC, this will be a match that sees RSL control the possession for a majority of the match, the first great chance came in the 7^th minute when a great ball played in by Dema and Yura fired a shot on goal that required a big save but Sutton was able to push it out of bounds. The following corner kick didn’t do anything to impress anyone, but the TFC counter was even less impressive and Nick cleaned up a loose ball for RSL. The attack keeps coming from RSL as first an attempt to cross the ball by Kyle is blocked out of bounds by TFC, it is followed up by a decent shot, but again Sutton is there. Jamison Olave is showing everyone on the pitch that he is the man in charge out there, he truly is coming into his own in MLS and hopefully we can come to terms with his club in Columbia to make his loan a permanent transfer.

In the 11^th minute RSL get a throw in deep in the TFC third, but the ball is cleared from the box by TFC. RSL keeps the ball in the TFC half of the pitch with a great effort by Dema to keep possession of the ball and a shot is made by Findley but you can tell he didn’t get all of it. TFC is clearly on their heels early in this one and unable to keep RSL out of their half of the pitch, a great job of attacking the ball every chance they get by RSL.

Damm the coverage by the Canadians sucks, the picture just got shrunk into a tiny box that is half of the screen, I am hoping they get this fixed quickly. In the 15^th minute a shot by Robbie is blocked and sails out of bounds off a Toronto player, OK I can officially say I hate the coverage by CBC Sports, which is what is being shown on Direct Kick, not only is the picture still screwed up (ah it just fixed itself after 4-5 minutes), but the announcers sound like they are covering a golf match. In the 18^th minute another attempted cross by RSL gets knocked out of bounds for a corner kick, Javi plays the ball in but it goes straight to Sutton, but he plays the ball all the way to Rimando and RSL get the ball again. Hey, some interesting trivia did you know that Jason is the youngest coach in MLS? A ball played into the box by Javi to Yura, but he is a step offside. So if the season ended today, should Jason get the coach of the year award? I am not sure how anyone could question that given that the turnaround for RSL appears to be very real as they hold onto first place in the Western conference.

RSL is really controlling the possession, I would say from the 5^th to the 20^th minute that RSL controlled at least 65-70% of the possession, and have had the better of shots and shots on goal as well, I hope that we can continue this aggressive controlling style as we go on the road for the majority of our next few matches. TFC gets a corner kick in the 23^rd minute, but it is pushed away by Rimando, who is getting a really nice plug by the announce team, who mention that he is the shortest keeper in the league, but one of the most athletic keepers as well. A big collision between Sutton and Wingert has both of them down on the pitch, but it looks like Sutton took the worst of the damage.

Another ball played in by Morales but it goes just a bit long and Robbie can’t get to it. RSL comes right back and Robbie gets a shot off, but it goes off the frame of the goal, wow there are times that RSL has to think if it weren’t for bad luck, they would have no luck at all. 30 minutes in and a number of the TFC players look very winded already, TFC has another corner kick, but it is cleared out by Olave with authority, but they get another corner, this one again goes off Olave and a third corner for TFC, but this one goes over and out so RSL gets a goal kick and no real threat comes from the TFC corners.

A long distance shot from Kyle goes just over the top and a bit wide, it looked a lot like shots that Kyle has made earlier in the season and again shows how dominant RSL has been so far in the match, another shot by Kyle but this one goes very high and wide. The goal kick from Sutton ends up right back in RSL hands as they continue to attack well and control possession, TFC seems to only get one or two passes before RSL breaks up their effort. The coverage really is bad, twice the screen has gone black, and then there was that 5 minute mini screen period, MLS needs better quality control. A great ball played in by Wingert to Yura, but he is flagged for being offside, the TFC counter was broken up by Olave once again, he and Borchers are so solid in the back that it really is impressive to watch.

With under 10 minutes left in the first half it is more of the same as RSL really is controlling both the ball and the pace of the match, and while they haven’t scored yet, they have had by far the better chances and created better opportunities. A foul by Robinson on Morales just on the corner of the box, a couple more feet and it would have been PK, the free kick is cleared out of bounds by TFCRSL drives the ball back into the box but once again TFC clears it out of bounds. Some nice passes by RSL, a Kyle Beckerman shot from distance is stopped by Sutton once again, but the ball bounces out to RSL but nobody is able to get a follow up shot off.

Wingert is having a great first half, he is getting forward and playing great balls in and his defense is super as he gets back to break up plays so quickly. Yura fires a shot on goal, but again Sutton is there to catch the ball but as we have seen a number of time he plays the ball out and it goes all the way back to Rimando and RSL takes possession again. Funny as the announcers play up Kyle Beckerman, we know that TFC asked for him if we wanted the rights to Brian McBride, I think telling them nowwas another great move by Jason and Garth. TFC finally looks threatening but like RSL’s attempt earlier the TFC shot by Robert goes off the cross bar and nobody is there to follow up, but TFC get another corner kick this time the young kid Ibrahim fails to get his head on the ball and it goes out of bounds. Robbie gets an offside flag as he attacks the goal with the first half winding down, this time I think he was simply a step too quick and the official couldn’t keep up with him.

1^st half photos

Ready to start the match

Yura readys to head the ball

Sutton makes the save, he had a good night an made some big saves

Kyle runs past a tired looking Ricketts

Javi on the attack

2^nd half

Well RSL makes a change at halftime with Cutler coming out and Andy Williams coming in to provide a little more offensive punch. TFC tries to maintain its energy from the end of the first half into the start of the second half, but the action is slowed as Dema goes down hard and RSL gets the ball. One nice thing about tonight is that only two more times will we have to play at RES with those damm football lines on the pitch, soon we will get to play on some nice green grass, I hope to stop out to the stadium later this week and get some pictures. In the 48^th minute Kyle has the ball inside the box, but can’t get a shot off as Sutton grabs the ball off of Beckerman’s foot. That one should have been a goal if Kyle had taken a quicker shot, TFC is doing a bit better this half and actually have keep the possession battle very even in the first 5 minutes of the second half.

You can still see a number of TFC players who look to be out of gas already in the second half, a nice long ball played to Findley but it goes a bit long and back to Sutton. The TFC attack is broken up by a strong play by Javi who takes the ball away from the attacking player, a foul on Findley in the attack but RSL drive the ball into the box and Yura’s header goes just wide of goal, nice effort. Well it seems that RSL has finally started playing like they did in the first half by attacking the ball in both the offensive and defensive sides of the pitch, and the result is that they are getting a better share of the possession. Wow a hard foul by Joy gives TFC a free kick from about 30 yards out, but the ball goes high over the goal and no threat from TFC. TFC is doing a better job of attacking, but the RSL defense is too strong as TFC shot seems to bet frozen on the goal line as it deflects off Dema and stalls on the line and Rimando covers up the ball. RSL counters and the shot is blocked by the arm of Marshall, but it is one of those ball to arm and not the other way so the official Kevin Stott waves it off.

We have hit the one hour mark and the score is still 0-0, Morales drives in a great ball off a set piece but Olave’s header goes just wide of the goal. He is looking good on set pieces both defensively and now he is getting his head on the ball on the offensive side as well. In the 62^nd minute Kenny Deuchar is on for Yura Movsisyan. The corner kick is cleared out but RSL keeps possession and while Olave is still in the offensive third he gets a super ball played in by Wingert and he heads it home. RSL is up 1-0, and that seems to have energized both the fans who are making a bit more noise, and the players who are attacking again, but the ball goes over the end line for a goal kick.

A new player is ready to come into the mix and it is the all time leading scorer for RSL, Jeff Cunningham coming on for Smith in the 66^th minute. We should remember that Cunny scored the winner last year against RSL. Wow, Chris Wingert fires a rocket on goal and it is just a bit high but an exciting shot from 25 yards out. TFC counters as Cunny is fouled by Dema, welcome back to a whole new RSL Jeff, oh as a sidebar, when the TFC players came out Cunny congratulated us on the good season that RSL is having, that was a nice touch.

RSL continues to do a nice job of closing down the TFC attack and getting forward looking for a second goal, it does seem like both teams have gotten a bit more energy by bringing in some fresh legs. Every time TFC tries to counter the RSL defense is up to the task and Olave is doing a good job of protecting his goal so far, Andy is doing a great job of closing in on whoever has the ball, no idea where he gets the energy as he played 70 minutes on Saturday in a match for Jamacia in the heat of Dallas. Ian Joy is down and we get to see Robbie Russell in his first RSL match as he comes in for a limping Joy, I hope based on his performance of late that Ian isn’t hurt too bad, he has been a star since winning back a starting 11 position.

Well here is our chance to see how well RR can fit in with only three days with the team, right away he is up in the attacking third of the pitch and wow he does a great job of getting back on defense along with Olave, as RSL dodges a bullet. 15 minutes left and RSL is protecting their one goal lead, but doing so by trying to control possession and keep the ball in the TFC half of the pitch. I really am liking how both RF and Kenny are getting back and helping out on defense, it shows that everyone on the pitch is playing team ball. Another TFC counter is broken up by RSL, that really has been the situation all night long, but you can see as we get close to the 80^th minute that RSL is playing a little more defensively and trying to protect their lead. I am surprised that TFC has not made any other changes, with 10 minutes left and down a goal on the road you have to think they should be bringing in anyone who can add some fresh legs or offensive power.

Oh another RSL attack poked away by a TFC defender, RF was attacking up the side and was just outside the box as the ball was poked away before he could get a shot off. The follow up corner kick was played in and Kenny Deuchar tries to get his offense going with a bicycle kick attempt but it goes high and wide. Olave picks up a yellow card as he reached out and just barely tripped up Guevara, the free kick from just outside of the box and Guevara puts a great shot on goal and finds the top corner just beyond the reach of Nick Rimando, the first goal RSL has given up in 4 matches.

RSL is trying to get back into the attack as there are under 5 minutes left, a pass goes long and it is cleaned up by Sutton who is having a great night so far. Beckerman takes a great shot and it is saved by Sutton again, but the rebound is hammered into the back of the net by Robbie Findley and Sutton gets a touch but not enough to keep it out of the goal. 2-1 RSL, hey wait a second that sounds familiar, that is the score I picked for this match. RSL continues to attack, as the clock hits 90:00, but the 4^th official is showing 4 minutes of stoppage time. TFC gets another dangerous free kick from a couple yards outside of the box, but it his headed away by Borchers, but TFC keep possession but their attempt on goal goes wide and it is a RSL goal kick as stoppage time starts.

RSL is slowing down the pace, but they are still playing more in the TFC half of the pitch than their own. TFC is frantic in their attempt to get the ball and try to make something good happen for them, but RSL counters as Findley goes one on one with the keeper but again Sutton does a great job and shuts him down. Kevin Stott blows the whistle and this one is over as RSL remain undefeated at home with a 2-1 win to extend their lead in the West to 4 points in front of both Houston and LA, while improving their goal differential to a +2.

Well done and now RSL is starting to make believers out of a lot of people in and around MLS.