FCD, RSL clash in first meeting of season
Western Conference rivals fight for position Friday
RIO TINTO STADIUM, Sandy, Utah
July 24, 2009 (WEEK 19) / MLS Game #130
8 p.m. MT (KUTV-2.2; KFWD-52)
Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas meet for the first time this season, both needing points to begin climbing up the Western Conference ladder into playoff contention. RSL had its five-game undefeated streak put to an end last time out, leaving the club in sixth place in the conference. FC Dallas is a spot further back, also coming off a loss in their last league game, two weeks ago.
REFEREE: Ricardo Salazar. SAR (bench): Fabio Tovar; JAR (opposite): Frank Anderson; 4th: Tyler Ploeger MLS Career: 93 games; FC/gm: 28.5; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 24; pens: 31
INJURY REPORT: REAL SALT LAKE - PROBABLE: MF Jean Alexandre (lower back strain); FW Robbie Findley (R ankle sprain); DF David Horst (R knee effusion); DF Jamison Olave (R knee derangement) ... FC DALLAS - OUT: FW Peri Marosevic (R hip); MF Alvaro Sanchez (R ankle)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: RSL: Kyle Beckerman (USA, CONCACAF Gold Cup) ... DAL: Kenny Cooper (USA, CONCACAF Gold Cup)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: RSL: Robbie Russell
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: RSL: Will Johnson, Clint Mathis, Javier Morales, Jamison Olave ... DAL: Pablo Ricchetti, Andre Rocha, Marcelo Saragosa
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (14 meetings): Real Salt Lake 4 wins, 18 goals ... FC Dallas 9 wins, 23 goals ... Ties 1
AT SALT LAKE (8 meetings): Real Salt Lake 4 wins, 13 goals ... FC Dallas 3 wins, 10 goals ... Ties 1
RETURN MATCH: 9/26: Real Salt Lake at FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m. CT
LAST YEAR (MLS):
5/10: RSL 2, DAL 1 (Morales 28; Beckerman 73 - Cooper 56)
5/24: DAL 2, RSL 1 (Oduro 83, 91+ - Espindola 69)
10/18: RSL 3, DAL 1 (Movsisyan 35; Johnson 53; Findley 86 - Saragosa 7)
• Real Salt Lake won the season series a year ago, as the home team won in each of the three meetings.
• FC Dallas have won all six home meetings between the teams, outscoring RSL 13-5 in the games played in north Texas.
• Real have won four of the last five in Salt Lake, including the only meeting ever at Rio Tinto Stadium, last Oct. 18, the last FCD win a 1-0 triumph in 2007.
• Coaches record: Jason Kreis vs. DAL: P5 W2 L3 D0 ... Schellas Hyndman v RSL: P1 W0 L1 D0
REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake lost for the first time since May, conceding three goals in the first half en route to a 3-1 loss to the Columbus Crew on Saturday at Crew Stadium. Real have 20 points from 17 matches on the year, sitting in sixth place in the Western Conference, 12 points off the pace set by MLS overall leaders Houston Dynamo.
LAST MATCH
• The Crew were decimated by injuries, coming off back-to-back draws, while Real were on a five-game unbeaten streak.
• But the Columbus replacement strike pair of Steven Lenhart and Jason Garey stepped up to seal the full three points. In the 23rd minute, a Frankie Hejduk cross from the right was half-cleared by Jamison Olave -- but only as far as Lenhart, who gleefully thumped it inside the left post for his first league goal this season.
• Then Garey struck twice, on either side of halftime. In the 31st minute, a cleared ball was hooked high back into the area, and Garey was able to keep Nick Rimando from punching clear, stabbing home as the ball fell into the goalmouth.
• In the 52nd minute, the two combined on a wonderful, Lenhart sending a lovely backheel of a Duncan Oughton pass into Garey's path, and he slotted home from just inside the area for his third goal on the year.
• Real got a goal back in the 76th minute. Latching on to a header from newly acquired Pablo Campos, Raphael Cox ripped home a shot from inside the area for his first career MLS goal.
• Columbus stretched its home undefeated mark to 18 games, matching San Jose's league streak in 2004-05 as well the Earthquakes' unblemished mark of 20 including the MLS Cup Playoffs. The Crew's last defeat in Crew Stadium was 2-0 to San Jose on June 7, 2008. Columbus already owns the overall unbeaten standard of 19 matches that extended a game into the 2005 season and the road undefeated mark of nine, set in 2004.
• Real coach Jason Kreis made one change to the team that came back for a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on July 3. Jamison Olave and Robbie Findley came back into the team, with Fabian Espindola suspended and Andy Williams away on personal business.
• Here's Kreis's team (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando - Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Tony Beltran (Pablo Campos 46) - Robbie Russell, Ned Grabavoy - Clint Mathis, Javier Morales, Robbie Findley (Raphael Cox 61) - Yura Movsisyan. Substitutes Not Used: David Horst, Tino Nunez, Kyle Reynish, Chris Seitz
• "We created the right number of chances, no doubt about it," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "We had some pretty clear chances that we felt pretty bad about not scoring early on. If we had taken some of those early chances it might have been a different game."
TEAM NEWS
• With Jamison Olave coming back into the back four, Robbie Russell moved forward to one of the two holding midfield spots, with Clint Mathis resuming his role wide on the right. Robbie Findley was in the other wide role with Fabian Espindola suspended.
• "It cost some real difficulties for us because we lost three players to the Gold Cup and all three play the same position," Kreis said. "Our depth in there has been tested. We ended up putting in a couple of guys who got a lot of minutes who aren't typically in there on the inside of the midfield."
• Brazilian forward Pablo Campos, acquired midweek from San Jose for two draft picks, almost made an immediate impact when he entered at the start of the second half.
• "He made some real good touches and some not so good," Kreis said. "I know it's difficult to play in your very first game. There's so much emotion and it's hard to keep it in check and have a good performance."
• After conceding just three goals total in their previous five games, RSL conceded three goals against the Crew - a season high.
• "Simple mistakes and missed clearances. On the third goal, we gave the ball away and defensively, we lost our shape," said Nat Borchers. "Overall, I think it was ourselves that shot us in the foot."
• Raphael Cox scored his first league goal, in his sixth appearance in his rookie season. He has made back-to-back substitute appearances; his last minutes had come in his first MLS start, May 9 at Chivas USA.
• "I was real happy to get it but it (stinks) that we didn't play better on the day and have a better result," Cox said. "(The loss) does take away from it a little bit."
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas return to action after a weekend off, their last match a 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids on July 11. FCD has 17 points from 16 matches, still in seventh place in the Western Conference, now 15 points in arrears of division leaders Houston Dynamo.
LAST MATCH
• The Rapids and FC Dallas were meeting for the second time in 18 days, after a late Colorado equalizer left the teams in a 1-1 draw June 24 in Commerce City. The Rapids had since lost back-to-back games; FC Dallas had two wins in their last three.
• The game's lone goal came in the 79th minute. Kosuke Kimura advanced forward on the right and played the ball into Mehdi Ballouchy. Ballouchy held up the ball then laid a return pass into the area for Kimura, who hammered a rising blast over goalkeeper Ray Burse and inside the left post for first career league goal.
• FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman made one change to the team that defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-1 two weeks before at Pizza Hut Park. George John came back into the team into central defense with Anthony Wallace going to the substitutes' bench.
• Here's Hyndman's team (4-1-4-1): Ray Burse - Drew Moor, Pablo Ricchetti, George John (Daniel Torres 68), Kyle Davies (Blake Wagner 46) - Dax McCarty - Brek Shea (Eric Avila 62), David Ferreira, Andre Rocha, Dave van den Bergh - Jeff Cunningham. Substitutes Not Used: Bruno Guarda, Josh Lambo, Steve Purdy, Anthony Wallace
TEAM NEWS
• Four days after the loss to the Rapids, FC Dallas returned to action in a friendly against CSD Comunicaciones of Guatemala, getting goals from Daniel Torres in the first half and Eric Avila in second-half stoppage time for a 2-0 win.
• "I thought we looked pretty good in the first half," Hyndman said. "We moved the ball well and created a lot of scoring opportunities. We didn't get the finishing in like we wanted to. They were a team that was out of sync and didn't connect a lot. We were a team that moved the ball well enough to get more goals but just didn't finish."
• Here's Hyndman's team: Dario Sala, Steve Purdy (Drew Moor 74), Pablo Ricchetti, Kyle Davies (Blake Wagner 46), Daniel Torres, André Rocha (Eric Ávila 46), Dax McCarty, Bruno Guarda, Dave van den Bergh (Anthony Wallace 66), David Ferreira, Jeff Cunningham (Brek Shea 46).
• Dario Sala played the entire game in goal for FCD and said he is ready to return to duty. His last appearance came April 25 vs. Chivas USA.
• "I wasn't sure I would be kicking at 100 percent but after the first couple of kicks, I felt good. I was kicking the ball 80 yards and pushing it. We got a clean sheet tonight as well. It's great to be back out there and that gives me so much confidence. I feel great personally, even better than when I came back at Chivas. I don't feel like I took two months off."
• After the midweek friendly against Comunicaciones, Hyndman gave the entire squad four days off before returning to a full week of training this week.
• "Everybody looks refreshed," FCD midfielder Dax McCarty said. "This is the first break we've had all year. I think it came at a good time for us. Unfortunately we lost at Colorado. We didn't want to go into the break with a loss but if you look at the last nine or 10 games, they've been more positive than negative. It's been a lot better run than in the start of the season. Here comes the grinding part of the season where you've got to start grinding out results. We're fighting for a playoff spot and the mood in training is good. It's optimistic."
• FC Dallas also acquired Atiba Harris from Chivas USA for midfielder Marcelo Saragosa. In his career, Harris has played as a striker, a center midfielder and wide on either side.
• "Atiba is a player that has really developed in the league," Hyndman said. "... He's a good player who brings athleticism, something that this league really thrives on. He's starting to develop a really good soccer brain, has good technical ability and speed down the flank. I just think he's going to add to the areas that we don't have."
