Real Salt Lake vs. Chivas USA leg 2
November 7, 2008 by f4denz.
More of the same?
Real Salt Lake has to head down to LA to face Chivas USA in the second match of their Western Conference semifinal series, and RSL heads in with a 1-0 goal advantage. There are a number of cynics and doubters that say that Chivas came into the match with a laundry list of injuries that popped up at the last moment and nobody from the goats is letting loose lips sink their ship, but as of today on their website the following injured players were listed:
DF Eric Ebert- Out
FW Maykel Galindo- Out
DF Lawson Vaughn- Out
MF Raphael Wicky- Out
FW Alecko Eskandarian- Questionable
MF Atiba Harris- Questionable
DF Claudio Suarez- Questionable
MF Sasha Victorine- Questionable
None of those players were able to go last week and you have to ask yourself if you’re not fit enough 7 days ago to make a road trip in the playoffs can you be ready to play at 100% on Saturday? I doubt it, but for some they may not have much choice in the matter, Chivas can’t play defensively or they will lose. They have to attack, and they have to score at least 2 goals, or they will need overtime to secure their first every playoff series win, but RSL has only given up two goals once in their last 5 matches, and in each of those matches RSL has scored at least once.
Meanwhile RSL head coach Jason Kreis has let it be known that Chivas can expect more of the same this week, which means RSL will attack from the first whistle until the last whistle. Last weekend RSL dominated a match that could have seen 3-4 goals, the score should have been 2-0 had it not been for a goal taken off the scoreboard by Salazar for what he believed was a foul by Yura Movsisyan on Carey Talley at the top of the Chivas box. I have watched that play at least a dozen times and I think Talley deserves an award for a great acting job, the contact was very light and a lot less than what Yura and other RSL players had suffered in the box all match long. Still RSL out shot Chivas 21-3, had a 8-1 shot on goal advantage and 6-0 corner kick edge, it is clear that some of the players missing could have made a difference for Chivas, but no two or three players could have stopped what was an attacking masterpiece played by RSL.
There are a couple matchups that I think once again will be critical to the outcome of the match; first is the matchup between Jamison Olave and Nat Borchers vs. whoever Chivas puts in at forward. They can put Razov back in but he was rendered ineffective for the entire match, in fact his best effort came on defense in clearing a Borchers header off the line to save a goal. Braun was gassed after 50 minutes and when Preki eventually brought in Nurse he was no more effective, Alecko has been hot over the last month of the regular season and lucky against RSL this year, but can he single handedly change what was a non-existent Chivas offensive attack? I doubt it.
The next big match up will be Marsch vs. Morales, this one again was no contest last week as Morales controlled the match and Chivas was so worried about double teaming him that both Joy and Wingert were able to get forward in the attack from the back line and Kyle was able to push forward more into the attack, could Atiba Harris do better, it is possible Atiba is very quick for his size but coming off an injury would he be agile enough to keep up with the hard working and crafty Javi? Again I doubt it.
The final matchup I think will be Fabi and Yura vs. Dan Kennedy or Zach Thornton, so who will Chivas start in goal? The keeper who is a veteran of MLS playoffs and came up with 7 saves on the road or an unproven rookie with just 9 matches in his MLS career, I expect that we all will see Thornton in goal on Saturday and it is the right move. I don’t think it will matter because I expect RSL to start with Fabian Espindola up front to work with Yura Movsisyan, knowing that an early goal on the road would really put incredible pressure on Chivas and the you can bring in a solid player like Mathis if you have a lead and need to kill the match, or a Robbie Findley if you are in need of a goal late in the match. This is a matchup that favors RSL, and despite a great match last weekend by Thornton, a repeat performance is unlikely if the RSL attack is as unrelenting as it was at Rio Tinto.
Since the first day that Jason Kreis took over at Real Salt Lake as head coach, he has lived by one saying “Fortune rewards the bold”, and last week was the most vivid example of that philosophy being lived on the pitch. RSL ran circles around Chivas, they pressured them for the full 90 minutes, and I expect that we will see the same on Saturday. There is nothing to lose for RSL, very few people expected them to make the playoffs at the start of the year, and fewer yet expected them to beat Chivas last weekend, but they both happened and I believe it will happen again as RSL wins 2-1 on the road and takes their place in the Western Conference final. The only question for me is who will they face, as Houston failed to impress against a New York team that backed into the playoffs, and now Houston has to play second fiddle to the University of Houston football team and play their match on Sunday on a surface that will be pounded and tore up in a college football match on Saturday night. If New York who is used to playing on a bad surface can pull out a win, we could see one more match at Rio Tinto this season, and that would exceed everyone’s wildest expectations. Well everyone except mine.
One down and 3 to go
Tonight Chicago had a chance to extract revenge against the New England Revolution, and they did just that in earning their spot in the Eastern conference final match, the 3-0 win had a lot to do with New England having to put together a makeshift roster that saw 5 players in their first playoff series, and end the match with just 10 men. On Saturday two more teams will earn spots in their conference finals and I am going to pick Columbus to beat the Wizards 2-0 to clinch their spot. On Sunday I am going to pick the upset as the Red Bulls get two goals and Houston can only answer with one, setting up a rematch of the Rio Tinto opener.
OFF MY SOAPBOX