MLS Real Salt Lake

"Spilt-squad" Performance a Tale of Two Halves

Published on February 20, 2010 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Saturday, February 20, 2010) - Real Salt Lake fell behind early against Vancouver Whitecaps FC and couldn't come up with enough answers in return, suffering a 1-2 defeat to the Canadian side in its 2010 preseason exhibition opener. Vancouver used two goals from striker Marlon James to build a quick advantage by the middle of the first stanza, and Real Salt Lake FW Fabían Espíndola's goal in the 79th minute wasn't enough to dig the Claret-and-Cobalt out of the hole dug during the opening stanza.

"I was displeased in general with the first half performance. I don't think they showed the amount of commitment necessary to play the way that we want to play, the way that we need to play," explained Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis. "The second half was a complete flip-flop; I thought the effort was very good, the commitment was very good, the defending methodology - everything was good. And that group won their half, so hats off to them."

The dangerous moments created by Vancouver in the first half started just 90 seconds in, when DF Takashi Hirano's long pass down the left flank was raced onto by James. The striker from St. Vincent beat RSL 'keeper Tim Melia to the ball as he raced toward the corner of his area, and the forward bounced a shot past Melia that knocked off the far right post and into goal to give the 'Caps a dream start. The woodwork worked against the MLS side in the 7th minute, as FW Abe Thompson's shot from just outside the area beat ex-RSL netminder Jay Nolly but bounced off the inside of the left post and back into play.

Vancouver was repeatedly able to force Real Salt Lake into turnovers during the first half with its constant pressure on the ball, which resulted in the second tally by James in the 23rd minute. After Vancouver stripped the ball in midfield, a quick counter was capped off with James nodding home FW Zourab Tsiskaridze's cross from the left side of the area, the lightning-fast goal doubling the Whitecaps advantage. Tsiskaridze and MF Ricardo Sanchez both missed quality opportunities just after the half hour mark, which is when Real Salt Lake was able to bring some composure to its possession and even out the proceedings, although it would have nothing to show for the improved effort as it headed into the halftime break.

With Real Salt Lake taking a "split-squad" approach to the contest, the new XI for the second half was able to right the ship as far as possession - but things nearly started out the same as the first stanza with James almost converting on a header less than a minute after the whistle. From there on out it was mostly Real Salt Lake in control, and the Utahns nearly got one back in the 50th minute when Espíndola sent a dangerous low cross into the mixer, but FW Tino Nuñez saw the ball take a skip off the turf and was unable to adjust and get a shot off on a wide-open net. Nunez returned the favor to Espíndola with a perfect cross in the 56th minute, but the Argentine sent his header from eight yards over the crossbar.

A Real Salt Lake turnover in its defensive third and quick counter-attack by Vancouver MF Nizar Khalfin forced netminder Kyle Reynish into some fine work to keep the deficit at two in the 67th minute, and the subsequent corner kick from the Whitecaps found the head of former RSL'er DF Nelson Akwari, whose header was sent just high. Real Salt Lake would again pick up its play, and it would pay off in the 79th minute, when a chipped pass from MF Javier Morales was run onto behind the Vancouver defense by his fellow countryman Espíndola, who beat an onrushing GK Simon Thomas with a header that had just enough steam to beat the 'keeper back to the goalline, cutting the lead in half. Neither side could mount a quality chance from there on out, resulting in an opening loss for Real Salt Lake that should serve as a learning experience for the Utah side right out of the gates

"First and foremost, it's a chance for us to see if what's we've done in the last week has worked effectively, if we learned anything," said Kreis. "We focused our entire week on defending, and to give two goals away in the first half shows that we haven't succeeded and we're not all on the same page yet. But we're only one week into the preseason and Vancouver has been at it for awhile, so there's a difference there."

Real Salt Lake News & Notes

- With Pablo Campos suffering a right calf strain (day-to-day) in training on Friday, Real Salt Lake found itself short-handed at the forward position. The coaching staff called on usual midfielder Jean Alexandre to fill the void up top, and the versatile second-year pro performed alongside veteran Abe Thompson during the first 45 minutes. Alexandre would move back to his customary holding midfielder position during the second half, making him the only member of the squad to play both halves on the day.

- Along with Campos, veteran defenders Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave and Chris Wingert were the only rostered Real Salt Lake players not to see action today, allowing the coaching staff to get a better look at the newer members on the preseason roster. Trialist GK Sean Milligan also remained on the sidelines for the contest.

- Along with Akwari and Nolly, Real Salt Lake saw some other familiar faces on the other side of the field, as the Whitecaps FC line-up included ex-D.C. United MF Justin Moose, and the Canadian club also recently brought on board former D.C. United sideline boss Tom Soehn as its Director of Soccer Operations.

- Real Salt Lake will enjoy its second off day of the trip on Sunday before renewing its practice schedule with a "two-a-day" session on Monday.

- After training from Monday through Thursday, Real Salt Lake will play its second and final exhibition of the Arizona camp on Friday, Feb. 26 against a very familiar foe, the Colorado Rapids. Kick-off at the Francisco Grande Resort is slated for 4:00 p.m. MT/local time next Friday.

- For photos and daily updates from Real Salt Lake's opening camp of the 2010 preseason - including today's exhibition contest - fans can head over to the team's Behind the Shield blog, located at www.RSLtotheCore.com. Updates during the team's exhibition matches will also be available via the team's social media outlets on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/RealSaltLake) and Twitter (www.Twitter.com/RealSaltLake).

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Major League Soccer Stories from February 20, 2010


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