RSL, Quakes look to gain ground
Pair in Western Conference pack hope to climb table
MLSnet.com Staff
Con 15 asistencias, el volante argentino Javier Morales fue nombrado Jugador Más Valioso del RSL. (R. Yeatts/Getty)
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RICE-ECCLES STADIUM, Salt Lake, Utah
May 31, 2008 | 7:30 p.m. MT (FSC/FSE)
WEEK # 10 | GAME # 67
Real Salt Lake return home to take on the San Jose Earthquakes with both teams looking to start the climb back up the Western Conference standings. With just one win in their last six games, both of Real's victories have come at Rice-Eccles Stadium, last three weeks ago against FC Dallas. The Earthquakes put an end to their four-game winless streak last week, defeating Houston Dynamo at Buck Shaw Stadium in an emotional night for their first home victory since their return to the league.
REFEREE: Jorge Gonzalez. SAR (bench): Paul Scott; JAR (opposite): Frank Anderson; 4th: Tyler Ploeger
MLS Career: 18 games; FC/gm: 28.2; Y/gm: 4.2; R: 6; pens: 7
INJURY REPORT: REAL SALT LAKE - OUT: FW Yura Movsisyan (R meniscus surgery), MF Nathan Sturgis (L hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE: DF Ian Joy (L ankle bone spur); PROBABLE: FW Fabian Espindola (L hamstring strain), DF Matias Mantilla (R foot contusion), MF Javier Morales (R adductor strain), DF Jamison Olave (R MCL strain) ... SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES - OUT: DF Jay Ayres (facial fracture); FW Gavin Glinton (sports hernia); FW Peguero Jean Philippe (R knee internal derangement)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: SJ: Kei Kamara (Sierra Leone; v Equatorial Guinea, June 1); Ivan Guerrero (Honduras; v Venezuela, May 30)
SUSPENDED: RSL: Ian Joy (through June 1)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: SJ: Ramiro Corrales; Nick Garcia
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (4 meetings): Real Salt Lake 0 wins, 4 goals ... Earthquakes 2 wins, 8 goals ... Ties 2
AT RICE-ECCLES STADIUM (2 meetings): Real Salt Lake 0 wins, 2 goals ... Earthquakes 1 wins, 3 goals ... Ties 1
• This is the first of three meetings between the clubs this season, the first of two on the Wasatch Front. They will meet again in Salt Lake City in less than a month's time, on June 18, before concluding their league season series on Sept. 27 at Buck Shaw Stadium.
LAST YEAR (MLS):
Did not meet
• The teams met four times in Real Salt Lake's inaugural season - the last for the Earthquakes in the league - and San Jose did not lose, coming away with a victory and a draw in each stadium in their four meetings that season.
• The teams did meet earlier this year in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match in Salt Lake City, RSL claiming a comprehensive 4-0 victory. Kyle Beckerman scored twice (21, 33), Yura Movsisyan once (33) and Andy Williams a late fourth.
• Here's Kreis's team: Chris Seitz; Tony Beltran, Jamison Olave, Matias Mantilla, Chris Wingert (Dustin Kirby 64); Andy Williams, Matias Cordoba (Javier Morales 58), Kenny Cutler, Kyle Beckerman (Dema Kovalenko 46); Yura Movsisyan (Tino Nunez 75), Robbie Findley. Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Reynish, Kenny Deuchar, David Horst
• Here's Yallop's team: Preston Burpo; Adam Smarte, Ryan Cochrane (James Riley 14), Jay Ayres (Jason Hernandez 15), Eric Denton; Shea Salinas, Ramiro Corrales (Ivan Guerrero 46), Joe Vide, Ryan Johnson; John Cunliffe, Peguero Jean Philippe (Ned Grabavoy 63). Substitutes Not Used: Joe Cannon, Kei Kamara
• Coaches record: Jason Kreis vs. SJ: first game ... Frank Yallop v RSL: P6 W2 L2 D2
REAL SALT LAKE
FC Dallas came back to win in Marco Ferruzzi's coaching debut, getting two late goals from Dominic Oduro for a 2-1 win against Real Salt Lake last Saturday at Pizza Hut Park. RSL have eight points from nine matches on the season, sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference, a point ahead of the San Jose Earthquakes.
LAST MATCH
• FC Dallas had gone winless in four consecutive games, last a disheartening 5-1 home loss to the LA Galaxy, in what would be Steve Morrow's final game in charge. Real Salt Lake had just one win in their last five matches, still winless on the road on the campaign.
• Before the first half was out, both teams were a man down. RSL defender Ian Joy was sent off in the 38th minute, after the second of two bookable offenses in 20 minutes. But just before the break, FCD defender Bobby Rhine was also shown red after an altercation with RSL's Javier Morales.
• The visitors took the lead in the 69th minute. Racing to receive a return pass from Morales in the left side of the area, Fabian Espindola sailed past a defender and drove an angled shot past FCD goalkeeper Dario Sala inside the far post.
• Dominic Oduro scored his first goal of the season the week before, and after coming on as a substitute, he again came through. In the 83rd minute, Drew Moor floated a long ball from well out on the right, and the Ghanaian rose up to head it over RSL 'keeper Nick Rimando.
• Then a minute into stoppage time, Andre Rocha split the RSL defense with a ball into the box. Oduro collected it before cutting to his right to escape his marker, then set himself and curled a shot past Rimando inside the right post for the winner.
• RSL head coach Jason Kreis made three changes to the team that lost 2-0 to the Colorado Rapids nine days before. Jamison Olave and Ian Joy came back into the starting lineup with Tony Beltran away on international duty and Matias Mantilla returning to the substitutes' bench. Javier Morales returned to the midfield, with Kenny Cutler also returning to the bench.
• Here's Kreis's team (4-3-1-2): Nick Rimando - Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave (Matias Mantilla 77), Ian Joy - Dema Kovalenko, Kyle Beckerman, Andy Williams - Javier Morales - Kenny Deuchar (Fabian Espindola 54), Robbie Findley (Kenny Cutler 46). Substitutes Not Used: Matias Cordoba, Dustin Kirby, Tino Nunez, Kyle Reynish
• "I think our effort was good," said RSL assistant coach Robin Fraser said. "The guys were tired and we defended a lot. As a result, we probably weren't able to get as much pressure on the services as we would have liked. When you've got a lead, if you can solve problems further away from your goal, then you're in much better shape. We've really got to try and put a little more pressure on service late in games. This is what happens is when the other team is chasing the game. They're going to find ways and lump them in but our defenders have to deal with it."
TEAM NEWS
• It was yet another disappointing setback on the away from home for RSL. The team has now lost all five league road matches, conceding 12 goals while scoring three, a record only slightly better than D.C. United's road mark (0-5-0, 1 GF, 12 GA).
• "We haven't gotten much luck on the road (so far this year)," Kyle Beckerman said. "I felt like today was really going to be our day to get out of our losing ways on the road and we almost did. We took a little baby step today, so hopefully next time, we will go all the way with it."
• The loss of Joy to the red card after 38 minutes also had a significant impact on the match. At halftime, RSL took off striker Robbie Findley for midfielder Kenny Cutler.
• "Obviously we'd lost a player. We had a forward running around in the midfield for the last 6-7 minutes. So the thought was to solidify the back two lines -- the back four and the middle -- and see what we could nip up front," Fraser said. "So it was really bringing in another midfielder so that Robbie (Findley) didn't have to play in the midfield, we had already put Dema (Kovalenko) in the back."
• Real now look to the games at Rice-Eccles against San Jose and Kansas City, over the next two weekends, as vital to their season.
• "This is not over," Kovalenko said. "There are so many games left but we have two games at home coming up, both must-wins. So, that's what we need to concentrate on and take it one game at a time."
• On Tuesday, RSL saw their run in the U.S. Open Cup come to an end in a 2-0 loss to the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium in a second-round play-in match. Steven Lenhart put the Crew ahead in the 25th minute, then four minutes after Dema Kovalenko was shown a red card, Robbie Rogers sealed the victory.
• Here's Kreis's team: Nick Rimando, Dustin Kirby (Tony Beltran 61), David Horst, Matias Mantilla, Ian Joy, Dema Kovalenko, Matias Cordoba (Javier Morales 73), Kenny Cutler (Andy Williams 46), Kyle Beckerman, Tino Nunez (Fabian Espíndola 70), Robbie Findley. Substitutes Not Used: Nat Borchers, Alex Nimo, Kyle Reynish
• "From our standpoint, we have to try and look at some of the positives from the match," said Kreis, pointing to how his team reacted to going a man down. "It could be space or it could just be a little bit about attitude. They realized they were going to have to work a little harder and show for each other a little bit more."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The San Jose Earthquakes won for the first time at home in their return to the league, defeating the club that used to call the Bay Area home, the Houston Dynamo, 2-1 in their last match nine days ago. The Earthquakes now have seven points from eight matches, still sitting in seventh place in the Western Conference, a point behind Real Salt Lake.
LAST MATCH
• The Earthquakes hadn't won in four games, since claiming the first victory in their return to the league, while the Dynamo had won their last two matches after opening defense of their title with a six-game winless run.
• It was somewhat of a homecoming for the Dynamo, featuring 10 players and coach Dominic Kinnear who had gone with the club to south Texas when it left after the 2006 season.
• The Earthquakes took the lead in the 67th minute. A deflected cross from Ronnie O'Brien was flicked over his head by Ned Grabavoy, finding Kei Kamara deep in the box. His quick shot on the turn not only beat Dynamo defender Patrick Ianni, but goalkeeper Pat Onstad as well, giving the Quakes the lead.
• San Jose doubled the margin in the 81st minute. On the counter, Ivan Guerrero played Ryan Johnson through on the right side of the box, and while Onstad did well to parry his blast, Guerrero was on hand to slot home the rebound.
• The Dynamo pulled a goal back two minutes from the end when Brian Ching volleyed home a Brad Davis cross at the near post for his second goal on the season, but they could get no closer and San Jose was able to celebrate a victory in front of their home fans for the first time in three years.
• Earthquakes boss Frank Yallop made two changes to the team that lost 2-0 to the San Jose Earthquakes the previous weekend. Nick Garcia came back into the back four, in place of James Riley, and Ryan Johnson started up top, with Joe Vide returning to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Yallop's team (4-1-3-2): Joe Cannon - Jason Hernandez, Ryan Cochrane, Nick Garcia, Eric Denton - Ramiro Corrales - Ronnie O'Brien (Shea Salinas 78), Ned Grabavoy, Ivan Guerrero - Ryan Johnson, Kei Kamara (Jovan Kirovski 80). Substitutes Not Used: Dan Benton, John Cunliffe, Kelly Gray, James Riley, Joe Vide
• "The opponent being Houston was not really significant, you just want to get three points in this league," said Yallop. "We were playing a good team and it was good to get a win off a team of their caliber, but the win was not any different than getting a win in any other game."
TEAM NEWS
• With his two starting forwards from the start of the season out injured, Peguero Jean Philippe and Gavin Glinton, Yallop has been trying to find the right mix in attack. He might well have done so in pairing Ryan Johnson with Kei Kamara up top, returning to a double-striker setup in just Johnson's second career MLS start.
• "It was good, he is a bit of a rough and tumbler, but he gets it done," Yallop said of Johnson. "He isn't afraid of getting in there and I think he was the difference tonight. He helped us play the way we want to play; Ryan is not as refined, but he is running with his heart and showed a lot of commitment for this team."
• Said Kamara: "With Gavin Glinton and Peguero (Jean Phillipe) being hurt, Ryan Johnson had to come in up top next to me so I had to put up my energy. Those guys are gone but that proves that anyone can come step up and play a good game and Ivan did that tonight."
• It was a match with plenty of raw emotion, given that up until 2005, the Houston club had called San Jose home. That was evident at the final whistle when former teammates Ryan Cochrane and Brian Ching engaged in a shoving match.
• "It felt like a normal game. It felt great to get the win. Obviously Houston is a good opponent and the better team in this league," Cochrane said. "We came to do what we needed to do tonight and set a tone for Buck Shaw Stadium in the future. We want it to be a tough environment to play and I think it said a lot when the champs came in."
• While there were some tense moments in the final exchanges, with the Dynamo getting a goal two minutes from the end and nearly grabbing a stoppage-time leveler, the Quakes this time held on for the win.
• "I thought we played well in the first half, to be honest. It was a good all-around performance. As I said against Columbus, we have to make sure we see the game out," Yallop said. "We gave up chances in the first half and I was concerned if we could lift our chances in the second half, but we did, which is good."
• And after two home losses in Santa Clara - and one in Oakland, at McAfee Coliseum - the Earrthquakes were able to give their fans a long-awaited victory to celebrate.
• "It feels like home, I felt comfortable tonight and I think the players did too. They looked comfortable in the locker room, in the warm-up and in the kickoff," Yallop said. "We have been here now, but it took a while to get to this point. I felt like we looked like we belonged out there."
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