|
|
Played
May 28, 2011 9:07 PM EDT
Rio Tinto Stadium — Sandy, Utah
Referee: M. Kadlecik
Attendance: 14674
May 28, 2011 9:07 PM EDT
Rio Tinto Stadium — Sandy, Utah
Referee: M. Kadlecik
Attendance: 14674
Real Salt Lake 1-2 Seattle Sounders FC: Sounders snap RSL's home unbeaten run
Seattle ended Salt Lake’s league-record 29 game home winning streak after Jamison Olave was sent off.
By Jeremy Horton
Getty Images
SANDY, Utah -- Patrick Ianni scored just a few minutes after Jamison Olave was sent off, and Lamar Neagle hit a stunner that ended up being the game winner as the Seattle Sounders stunned Real Salt Lake by winning at Rio Tinto Stadium in front of 14,674 in miserable conditions for soccer. Nelson Gonzalez pulled one back late for RSL, but it was too little too late as the Sounders snagged a road win in MLS’ most difficult venue.
First Half
Salt Lake settled down after the opening 15 minutes and started to look more dangerous on the attack. Jean Alexandre, the defensive midfielder-turned-forward, had a shot on goal after literally hurdling a defender, and Will Johnson followed up with another one a minute later. Both times, Kasey Keller got down to make the save.
Seattle kept asserting themselves as the rain began to fall in Sandy, and they had another good chance in the 30th minute. Jaqua laid a ball off for Neagle, and a defensive mixup between the two RSL center backs left Neagle with an open look at goal. He took a hard shot toward the left post, but Nick Rimando made a quality save, diving to his right to deny the Sounders the lead.
Neither team could generate much in the remainder of the half as playing conditions worsened. Real had the better of the possession but couldn’t do much near the goal while Seattle were content to counterattack, but again without much success.
Second Half
Real had the best chance of the game just three minutes after coming out of the locker room. After Seattle flubbed a clearance, the ball fell to Fabian Espindola. The Argentine, in his first game back after many weeks due to injury, expertly stepped around two Sounders defenders and hit a wicked shot towards the left post. Keller fully extended and just got a finger on the ball to knock it wide.
The momentum stayed with Salt Lake, and they had three successive corner kicks after the Keller save. On the third one, Olave fired a header on goal that Keller again just got a fingertip on, and it deflected off the crossbar and back into play. Unfortuantely for RSL, nobody was there to tap in the rebound and Seattle was able to clear.
Things took a turn for the worse for Real in the 58th minute when Jamison Olave slipped as he was trying to dispossess Mike Fucito. As he attempted to prevent an open shot from Fucito, Olave took him down and earned himself a straight red card, putting RSL down a man in the scoreless draw.
With the man advantage, Seattle began to generate more chances. Fucito had a good shot roll just wide just a minute after Olave was sent off, and Osvaldo Alonso was well-saved by Rimando in the 71st minute.
They finally broke through just after Alonso’s shot. On the ensuing corner, Jaqua got free and snapped a header downwards that deflected off Fredy Montero and landed at Ianni’s feet, leaving him with an easy finish as he just had to poke it home.
Down a man and a goal, RSL rolled the dice on going to three in the back, and it worked well them and suddenly it was the Sounders on the defensive. Off a corner, Will Johnson had a hard volley from point-blank range that he hit right at Keller, who seemed shocked to have the ball in his hands so suddenly.
Going to a 3-4-2 left RSL exposed in the back, and Montero came very close to doubling the lead from just outside the 18, but Rimando made an outstanding reaction save to leave RSL with a chance for a comeback.
Their chances for that comeback were dealt a serious blow in the 84th minute as Neagle scored a beautiful goal from the left corner of the penalty area, curling a shot toward the far post upper 90, bouncing it in off the underside of the crossbar.
But just three minutes later, Gonzalez gave Real hope as he surgically sliced into the penalty area, cut it back into the middle, and fired past Keller from close range to cut Seattle’s lead to 2-1. But they would get no closer as Seattle claimed the victory.
Going forward, there’s no rest for the weary as Seattle travels to Chicago for a date with the Fire next Saturday. Meanwhile, Salt Lake stays at home for next weekend as they will entertain the Vancouver Whitecaps at Rio Tinto.
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!
First Half
The game was all Sounders early in the match, and they had their first chance of the match in just the 8th minute. A free kick floated into the box found the head of Nate Jaqua, but his header lacked power and went wide. Just minutes later, Tyson Wahl got his head on a corner kick and put it towards the upper right corner of the goal, but Kyle Beckerman elevated and cleared it off the goal line with a header of his own.
Salt Lake settled down after the opening 15 minutes and started to look more dangerous on the attack. Jean Alexandre, the defensive midfielder-turned-forward, had a shot on goal after literally hurdling a defender, and Will Johnson followed up with another one a minute later. Both times, Kasey Keller got down to make the save.
Seattle kept asserting themselves as the rain began to fall in Sandy, and they had another good chance in the 30th minute. Jaqua laid a ball off for Neagle, and a defensive mixup between the two RSL center backs left Neagle with an open look at goal. He took a hard shot toward the left post, but Nick Rimando made a quality save, diving to his right to deny the Sounders the lead.
Neither team could generate much in the remainder of the half as playing conditions worsened. Real had the better of the possession but couldn’t do much near the goal while Seattle were content to counterattack, but again without much success.
Second Half
Real had the best chance of the game just three minutes after coming out of the locker room. After Seattle flubbed a clearance, the ball fell to Fabian Espindola. The Argentine, in his first game back after many weeks due to injury, expertly stepped around two Sounders defenders and hit a wicked shot towards the left post. Keller fully extended and just got a finger on the ball to knock it wide.
The momentum stayed with Salt Lake, and they had three successive corner kicks after the Keller save. On the third one, Olave fired a header on goal that Keller again just got a fingertip on, and it deflected off the crossbar and back into play. Unfortuantely for RSL, nobody was there to tap in the rebound and Seattle was able to clear.
Things took a turn for the worse for Real in the 58th minute when Jamison Olave slipped as he was trying to dispossess Mike Fucito. As he attempted to prevent an open shot from Fucito, Olave took him down and earned himself a straight red card, putting RSL down a man in the scoreless draw.
With the man advantage, Seattle began to generate more chances. Fucito had a good shot roll just wide just a minute after Olave was sent off, and Osvaldo Alonso was well-saved by Rimando in the 71st minute.
They finally broke through just after Alonso’s shot. On the ensuing corner, Jaqua got free and snapped a header downwards that deflected off Fredy Montero and landed at Ianni’s feet, leaving him with an easy finish as he just had to poke it home.
Down a man and a goal, RSL rolled the dice on going to three in the back, and it worked well them and suddenly it was the Sounders on the defensive. Off a corner, Will Johnson had a hard volley from point-blank range that he hit right at Keller, who seemed shocked to have the ball in his hands so suddenly.
Going to a 3-4-2 left RSL exposed in the back, and Montero came very close to doubling the lead from just outside the 18, but Rimando made an outstanding reaction save to leave RSL with a chance for a comeback.
Their chances for that comeback were dealt a serious blow in the 84th minute as Neagle scored a beautiful goal from the left corner of the penalty area, curling a shot toward the far post upper 90, bouncing it in off the underside of the crossbar.
But just three minutes later, Gonzalez gave Real hope as he surgically sliced into the penalty area, cut it back into the middle, and fired past Keller from close range to cut Seattle’s lead to 2-1. But they would get no closer as Seattle claimed the victory.
Going forward, there’s no rest for the weary as Seattle travels to Chicago for a date with the Fire next Saturday. Meanwhile, Salt Lake stays at home for next weekend as they will entertain the Vancouver Whitecaps at Rio Tinto.
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
Goal.com Man of the Match
Goal.com Flop of the Match
Top & Flop Global Ranking
Fans' Man of the Match
Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
Times In EST
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kenny Cooper
Striker NY Red Bulls |
11 | 2 |
|
Chris Wondolowski
Striker San Jose Earthquakes |
11 | 1 |
|
Thierry Henry
Striker NY Red Bulls |
9 | 0 |
|
Saer Sene
Striker New England |
7 | 1 |
|
Maicon Santos
Striker D.C. United |
7 | 0 |