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Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Drops 1-2 Decision At Houston

April 2, 2010 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


Brad Davis converted two penalties two minutes apart as the Houston Dynamo defeated Real Salt Lake Thursday night at Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo offense couldn't generate a shot on goal in the run of play, but the pair of penalties, both whistled against Jámison Olave, were all that needed to earn the three points.

The Dynamo started out sluggish and Real Salt Lake punished them early. In the 18th minute, Ryan Cochrane stepped up on Álvaro Saborío, who received the ball with his back to goal, withstood Cochrane's challenge and fed Javier Morales with a clever through ball. The RSL midfielder broke in on Dynamo keeper Pat Onstad and calmly put away his third goal in two games.

The first half was a physical affair with referee Jair Marrufo letting both teams dig into each other. The end result was, other than the goal, a lack of offensive punch for either team as both sides struggled to work the ball through a congested midfield.

In the 28th minute, the Robertson Stadium faithful held its collective breath when forward Brian Ching collapsed clutching his left hamstring. He was immediately subbed off, replaced by Luis Ángel Landín.

The second half was a much more riveting affair. The Dynamo came out of the locker room and pressed the issue from the kick off. Their efforts were rewarded when midfielder Geoff Cameron was dragged down by Olave just inside the left edge of the RSL box. Marrufo immediately pointed to the spot,and Davis drilled his first goal of the season past 'keeper Nick Rimando.

In the 55th minute, Olave again was the culprit. Landín collected the ball inside the RSL area and cut back cleverly to try to free himself for a shot. Just as he spun, Olave slid in and appeared to clip Landín's foot. The Dynamo striker certainly put on the hard sell, but again Marrufo pointed to the spot.

Again Davis stepped up, and again he beat Rimando with a well taken penalty just inside the right post.

The defending champions didn't go down without a fight, though. In the 63rd minute, Will Johnson found himself on the end of a Morales cross, but Pat Onstad slid over to shut down the angle. Then, in the 71st, Robbie Findley and Fabián Espíndola led a swift counterattack. Espíndola beat defender Bobby Boswell and ripped his shot on goal. Onstad was beaten, but Espindola's shot rocketed off the post.

A scrum between Espíndola and Boswell just before the final whistle raised tempers and resulted in yellow cards. But in the end, Houston was able to held on for the 2-1 win and the full points.

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