Some pictures from Real Salt Lake practice and a little RSL vs. LA history
Well before we get to pictures from practice, I thought I would share this one I was sent today:
Yes that is our logo and yes that is the space needle in Seattle. Way freaking cool
A good intense practice
I wonder if Nick closed his eyes when making those PK saves on Saturday
Kyle looked good
Clint looked good
Jean has some incredible ups
Will showed some fancy footwork
Yura was working hard
The players were faced with a whole lot of balls to sign after practice
It was a long practice with a lot of drills and work on particular situations. I was impressed with the focus and the work rate of the practice, I did notice one thing about the intensity, Jason expects that the players will listen and react to instructions and when they don’t it is clear that he gets a little frustrated. I know for Jason, Kyle and others this is their first shot at a MLS Cup and they are going about their business but you can see they really want this.
A little history lesson
For Real Salt Lake facing the LA Galaxy can be a history making moment at this weekend’s MLS Cup, but history has been made when these teams have met in the past as well:
2005- As RSL entered the league the second team they faced was the LA Galaxy (who would win MLS Cup that year) and it was the first loss in team history, the first road loss in team history but it would also be the first time RSL would find the back of the net as Jason Kreis scored in the 29th minute but it was the only RSL goal in what was a 3-1 loss. When LA came to RES it again was a night that would make history, after going down an early goal a little RSL history was made as Eddie Pope scored his first goal since joining RSL to even the match up at 1 each and then in the second half Jason would score his 4th goal of the season and RSL would take a lead and the match would end 2-1 marking the first time RSL had ever come from behind to win a match.
RSL would head back down to the HDC and it would be an ugly match as a beaten and battered RSL would try to play a bunker mentality but they could not withstand the 16 shots, and one of the 7 found the back of the net but RSL couldn’t score and lost the match 1-0. The final matchup between the two teams would be back at RES and again a couple first for RSL as Jamie Watson scored his first RSL goal and both Andy Williams and Jason got their first assists in the Claret and Colbat as RSL earned a 1-1 draw. So LA clearly was the better team in 2005 and won the season matchup 2-1-1 but considering it was the year that RSL was just starting and that the Galaxy would win the MLS Cup, not bad for an expansion side to get a result in two of their four matchups.
2006-So a bit more history was made in 2006 as LA got their first every win at RES 3-2 over RSL, but just two weeks later RSL would make history as they headed down to the HDC and a couple goals by Jeff Cunningham and one by Atiba Harris would give RSL a 3-0 victory, their first ever on the road and their first of the 2006 season. The 3rd matchup of the season would see RSL drop a 2-0 loss at the HDC, but when LA came back to RES it would be RSL getting a 1-0 victory. The season series ended up with a 2-2-0 record, not too bad for a second year team against the defending MLS Champions.
2007- RSL and LA would only face off 3 times in 2007 as the league dropped to a 30 game schedule. The first matchup was in LA and RSL was able to come back from a 3rd minute goal to even the match up in the 6th minute on a goal by Chris Brown, but in the end it was LA who would score one more time and RSL could only get one more and drop the match 3-2. RSL wouldn’t face the Galaxy again until September 1st and again that match would be in LA and history would be made in a way, RSL went behind early but was able to come back and get two goals to win the match 2-1 and secure their first road win of the season, it took 10 matches to get a road win but we did finally get one. A couple of weeks later LA would make their only appearance at RES and it was a large crowd who had hoped to see LA’s latest superstar but Beckham wasn’t on the pitch but was up in a suite, on the pitch it ended in a 1-1 draw as RSL ended the season series even with a 1-1-1 record.
2008- Once again some history was made between the two teams and again not all of it was good, the first matchup of the year was in early May at RES and it marked the first time David Beckham played against RSL in a Galaxy Jersey, the crowd was over 25,000 people on that day and RSL got out to a early 2-0 lead within the first 20 minutes on goals from Fabi and from Kenny Deuchar. Then all the Beckham fans got what they wanted as he scored a brilliant goal from about 30 yards out, it really was a thing of beauty, but then a few very strange things happened. First was a mystery call by head official Kevin Stott (remember that name) which gave LA a free kick from just outside the area, the signal was for an indirect free kick (meaning another LA player would have to touch the ball before it a shot could be taken) but instead Beckham went for goal and beat Rimando and the goal was allowed. This left many fans, and the official review team at US Soccer, confused about the call and decision but the scoreboard showed 2-2. As the half drew near RSL’s Kenny Deuchar sent a ball delivered by Kyle Beckerman into the back of the net to give RSL the lead back, but in another call that US Soccer would say was wrong a very late offside flag was raised and the goal disallowed. The rest of the match would go scoreless and it would end in a 2-2 draw that left a very bitter taste in the mouth of most RSL fans.
The second matchup between the two sides would come on labor day weekend at the Home Depot Center and again controversy would mar the match in the 6th minute of play Espindola would put a ball into the back of the net, head official Michael Kennedy ruled a goal but then after almost a minute changed his mind and disallowed the goal (I had never seen this before in a MLS match and again the Referee review program at US Soccer would say it was goal). As Fabi celebrated his goal with what had become a traditional back flip he landed wrong and hurt his ankle, this would limit his playing time for the rest of the 2008 season. Fresh off their victory in getting the RSL goal removed and while RSL was still in a state of shock LA would find the back of the net in the 9th minute to take the lead, but RSL would find the answer as Yura Movsisyan who came on for the injured Espindola evened the match up in the 21st minute. The second half saw RSL take a lead in the 52nd minute on Will Johnson’s first RSL goal, but LA would get even in the 69th minute as Buddle would score his 13th goal of the season and the match would end 2-2. While RSL and LA ended their shortened series at 0-0-2, it was RSL that would make the playoff for the first time, while LA would miss the playoffs for the third straight year.
2009- As has become a bit of a regular thing with these two teams the story would be some history and some controversy, RSL faced LA in early May at Rio Tinto Stadium and RSL would strike first on Robbie Findley’s 5th goal of the season in the 34th minute to give RSL a 1-0 lead and when the clock hit 90 that is the score that would still be up on the board. But with 4 minutes of stoppage time indicated thing would get very interesting, first up was a incidental handball by Will Johnson that gave LA a PK in the 91st minute and Landycakes stepped up did his 2 minute ritual and eventually took the shot and converted to tie the match up. RSL would respond by attacking as soon as the ball was back in play and in what many would call a “payback” call Espindola was down in the area and the official Michael Kennedy (remember him?) would again point to the spot for a PK. Will Johnson stepped up and buried it into the back of the net to give RSL a lead back in the 92nd minute, but then the RSL defense let down their guard for a few seconds and failed to clear the ball out of their own final third and Mick Magee hit a sneaky shot that caught defenders and Chris Seitz off guard in the 94th minute to give LA a goal and the match ended 2-2. It marked the first time in MLS history that 3 goals were scored in stoppage time.
The return leg would again be a bit of history as RSL headed into the match with a 7 match winless streak and again winless on the road, this match would be free of major controversy, which is a good thing. RSL found the back of the net early again as Yura continued his recent good form and in the 13th minute gave RSL the 1-0 lead as RSL dominated the first half of the match. LA would play much better in the second half but in the 51st minute Nat Borchers scored his first ever goal in a RSL kit to give us the 2-0 lead in the match and while LA would battle back and force some saves by Nick Rimando the score would end 2-0 as RSL broke their winless streak and got their first road win of 2009. The loss was just LA’s 3rd of the season as their record after the match was 2-3-9 with 15 points, while RSL improved to 5-6-3 with 18 points and RSL secured the regular season series 1-0-1.
Who would have thought that at almost the midpoint of the MLS season that either of those teams would make it into the MLS Cup? Yet that is where we find ourselves, for LA they can point to the fact that Beckham didn’t play in either of those matches as a point that they should be able to better compete with RSL in the Cup match. For RSL it is hard to argue with their form over the last two months 5-1-0 with two huge road wins against the best of the Eastern Conference.
Later today I will post a little more history as we look at the MLS Cup, and of course any breaking news.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
Earn The Star
This entry was posted on November 18, 2009 at 11:03 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.