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Disappointing Home Draw For RSL

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Via Deseret News - Tom Smart

Via Deseret News – Tom Smart

Real Salt Lake settled for a disappointing 1-1 draw tonight against the Chicago Fire. I’m actually in Chicago tonight for my niece’s birthday party, so I was hoping all the exciting RSL action would take place before the birthday festivities were in full swing.

The first twenty minutes of the game were fairly uneventful. After the twenty minute mark, RSL’s quality sharpened. Creatively played balls from the midfield to the offensive third led to good chances for Plata, Findley and two for Beckerman, but Chicago’s keeper Sean Johnson stopped everything that RSL sent his way in the first half.

Johnson made a case for being my second favorite keeper tonight. I already have a soft spot for MLS national team members, and for goal keepers on bad teams—both categories Johnson qualifies for. I suppose I can’t say if Chicago is a bad team or not, but they are at most significantly under-performing. The Fire is 2-7-2 and has only scored 7 goals on the season, but Johnson showed tonight why Klinsmann has called on him for national team duty. He is the main reason the Fire left Salt Lake with a point.

I was sure a goal would be scored while we were singing Happy Birthday, but there wasn’t—Sabo’s goal came just as my niece was finishing her fifth and final attempt to take out her eight candles. The goal sequence started with RSL’s Sebastian Velasquez maintaining good possession in Chicago’s half. Even after falling down, he was able to reclaim the ball and dribble down the left side where he found Ned Grabavoy. Grabavoy sent a cross into Saborío who simply outperformed the Chicago defender and put RSL up a goal. Tonight was Sabo’s first action since picking up a knock in a shooting drill prior to the LA Galaxy game at Rio Tinto. He came on as a substitute for Robbie Findley in the 62nd and wasted no time reminding RSL fans what he’s good at.

Feeling like a bad uncle, I masked my excitement the best I could so as not to take away from my niece’s moment. I feel like I did a pretty good job, but as the cake and ice cream were being passed out, Chicago scored the equalizer.

Throughout the game Chicago was sending long thrown-ins to the top of the six yard box. Chicago’s best chances came from these long thrown-ins, starting with a Chris Rolfe shot sent just wide in the 7th minute. In the 84th Chicago’s Austin Berry got a head on a long throw-in and Quincy Amarikwa made an acrobatic move picking the ball out of the air with his right foot sending it by Rimando. It’s an awesome goal, actually.

I didn’t do as good a job at masking my disappointment here, which lead to my dad asking me if Chicago had scored. I responded in the affirmative as I slumped into a dining room chair. When asked what kind of ice cream I wanted, I begrudgingly chose cookie dough. Probably the most depressed order for ice cream I have ever made.

Home draws always feel like losses for RSL, but they will have to get over it soon as they have a quick turnaround for the US Open Cup, which starts for MLS teams on Tuesday May 28th. RSL plays the Atlanta Razorbacks from NASL.

I always look forward to the US Open Cup because lower tier teams can make exciting runs given it is a knockout tournament, and it is one of three ways for RSL to get back into the Champions League. Roster decisions are always interesting as well because coaches want a winning roster on the pitch, but while keeping other players rested for MLS fixtures. RSL’s depth should shine during these early round Open Cup games against lower tier teams.

I will still be in Chicago, so I hope the family function I’ll be lured away from on Tuesday won’t be that important. You know, like a birthday.

 

Read More about RSL’s game with the Fire from the Deseret News.


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