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Played
April 20, 2011 10:00 PM EDT
April 20, 2011 10:00 PM EDT
Top of the Match
Javier Morales
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake
Javier Morales
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake
Flop of the Match
Neri Raúl Cardozo
Monterrey
Monterrey
Ricardo Osorio
Monterrey
Monterrey
Goal.com Rating 
Fans' Rating Monterrey 2-2 Real Salt Lake: Salt Lake earns CONCACAF Champions Cup draw in Mexico
Real Salt Lake twice drew even to earn the away goal advantage.
By Tyler Page
Hunter Martin
Real Salt Lake earned a stunning 2-2 draw against Monterrey in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Final Wednesday. The match was evenly played with both sides getting multiple chances to score.
Javier Morales scored in the dying moments as Real Salt Lake rescued a victory from a match that seemed destined to end in favor of the Mexicans.
The odd decision of the match was Monterrey's coach subbing two players as soon as the side took a 1-0 lead. Salt Lake showed fortitude by twice coming back from a goal down.
First Half
The match started as a wide-open affair with both sides getting opportunities to score. On one side, Fabian Espindola took a pass in the box from Chris Wingert and fired on directly into Jonathan Orozco.
On the other side Sergio Santana fired a long shot from the top of the box that Nick Rimando was able to deflect over the bar.
Monterrey struck first in the 18th minute when a ball played into the box got loose. Rimando came off his line to get it Monterrey's Sergio Perez got to it first. After a brief scramble in front of the goal, Perez slid and poked the ball over to De Nigris, who was unmarked and had no problem scoring into the open net.
As soon as Monterrey scored, Victor Manuel Vucetich pulled De Nigris and Luis Perez off the pitch. The two players appeared injured as De Nigris received immediate attention from team trainers once he sat on the bench.
Alvaro Saborio got the next great opportunity when Espindola headed a ball forward to him but the Costa Rican fired directly into Orozco.
Monterrey had numerous chances to score through the 35th minute, but it was unable to convert.
Making the most of an opportunity, Real Salt Lake evened the match in the 36th minute when Nat Borchers headed Will Johnson's service into the back of the net. Johnson swung a cross to the middle of the penalty area. Borchers and Espindola went for it with Borchers redirecting the cross into the back of the net.
The first half ended in a 1-1 draw.
Second Half
The second half opened with Monterrey dominating the run of play. Salt Lake played defensively, seemingly unable to deal with the hosts' tenacity and Monterrey had numerous opportunities to score in the first 25 minutes.
Things got worse for the MLS squad when Jamison Olave deflected a cross with his arm in the 62nd minute. That gave Suazo a penalty kick, which he converted to give Monterrey a 2-1 lead.
The next critical play came on a contested play when Kyle Beckerman collided with a Monterrey player and earned a yellow card in the 66th minute. The booking means Salt Lake's captain will be unavailable for the second leg of the final at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Violence erupted in the 72nd minute when Alvaro Saborio collided with Monterrey's keeper and Zavala ran in and shoved Saborio in the neck. Zavala was lucky to avoid a red card and both were given yellows.
Salt Lake started to get more aggressive during the final 20 minutes of play. Saborio nearly scored in the 73rd minute when he headed a corner straight at Orozco.
Still, it looked as if Monterrey would escape with a victory and head to Rio Tinto Stadium with a goal-advantage until RSL created a goal out of nothing. Javier Morales evened the match in the 89th minute when he took a pass from Arturo Alvarez at the top corner of the box, feinted past Jose Maria Basanta and put the ball past Orozco.
The match finished in a 2-2 draw. Real Salt Lake now holds the advantage as the MLS side has two away goals in the event of a draw at Rio Tinto Stadium.
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Javier Morales scored in the dying moments as Real Salt Lake rescued a victory from a match that seemed destined to end in favor of the Mexicans.
The odd decision of the match was Monterrey's coach subbing two players as soon as the side took a 1-0 lead. Salt Lake showed fortitude by twice coming back from a goal down.
First Half
The match started as a wide-open affair with both sides getting opportunities to score. On one side, Fabian Espindola took a pass in the box from Chris Wingert and fired on directly into Jonathan Orozco.
On the other side Sergio Santana fired a long shot from the top of the box that Nick Rimando was able to deflect over the bar.
Monterrey struck first in the 18th minute when a ball played into the box got loose. Rimando came off his line to get it Monterrey's Sergio Perez got to it first. After a brief scramble in front of the goal, Perez slid and poked the ball over to De Nigris, who was unmarked and had no problem scoring into the open net.
As soon as Monterrey scored, Victor Manuel Vucetich pulled De Nigris and Luis Perez off the pitch. The two players appeared injured as De Nigris received immediate attention from team trainers once he sat on the bench.
Alvaro Saborio got the next great opportunity when Espindola headed a ball forward to him but the Costa Rican fired directly into Orozco.
Monterrey had numerous chances to score through the 35th minute, but it was unable to convert.
Making the most of an opportunity, Real Salt Lake evened the match in the 36th minute when Nat Borchers headed Will Johnson's service into the back of the net. Johnson swung a cross to the middle of the penalty area. Borchers and Espindola went for it with Borchers redirecting the cross into the back of the net.
Real Salt Lake didn't win, but the draw was crucial
The first half ended in a 1-1 draw.
Second Half
The second half opened with Monterrey dominating the run of play. Salt Lake played defensively, seemingly unable to deal with the hosts' tenacity and Monterrey had numerous opportunities to score in the first 25 minutes.
Things got worse for the MLS squad when Jamison Olave deflected a cross with his arm in the 62nd minute. That gave Suazo a penalty kick, which he converted to give Monterrey a 2-1 lead.
The next critical play came on a contested play when Kyle Beckerman collided with a Monterrey player and earned a yellow card in the 66th minute. The booking means Salt Lake's captain will be unavailable for the second leg of the final at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Violence erupted in the 72nd minute when Alvaro Saborio collided with Monterrey's keeper and Zavala ran in and shoved Saborio in the neck. Zavala was lucky to avoid a red card and both were given yellows.
Salt Lake started to get more aggressive during the final 20 minutes of play. Saborio nearly scored in the 73rd minute when he headed a corner straight at Orozco.
Still, it looked as if Monterrey would escape with a victory and head to Rio Tinto Stadium with a goal-advantage until RSL created a goal out of nothing. Javier Morales evened the match in the 89th minute when he took a pass from Arturo Alvarez at the top corner of the box, feinted past Jose Maria Basanta and put the ball past Orozco.
Twice the MLS side fell behind, but persevered to draw
The match finished in a 2-2 draw. Real Salt Lake now holds the advantage as the MLS side has two away goals in the event of a draw at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Follow Goal.com on
to get the latest soccer news directly. Check out Goal.com's page; be part of the best soccer fan community in the world!
Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
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Results
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Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
H. Suazo
Striker Monterrey |
7 | 2 |
|
Oribe Peralta
Striker Santos Laguna |
6 | 0 |
|
H. Gómez
Striker Santos Laguna |
6 | 0 |
|
Abraham Carreno Rohan
Striker Monterrey |
5 | 0 |
|
A. De Nigris
Striker Monterrey |
4 | 0 |