RSL Monday evening center back: The kids are all right
by Kali Korbis
Controversies, both on and off the pitch, weren’t exactly in short supply when Real Salt Lake defeated Toronto FC 2-1 on Sunday evening.
MLS’ quirky scheduling practices caused problems for both sides.
Real were missing three starters — Nick Rimando (U.S.), Luis Gil (U.S. U-23s), and Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica), and Toronto two — Jozy Altidore (U.S.) and Michael Bradley (U.S.) to the FIFA international fixture dates. In addition, both teams faced issues with depth, as RSL’s Boyd Okwuonu (U.S. U-23s) and Elias Vasquez (Guatemala) were also away with their national teams and TFC were missing Steven Caldwell to injury and Justin Morrow to suspension, as well as keeper Quillian Roberts, defender Ashtone Morgan and and Jonathan Osorio.
Scheduling also divided the Salt Lake fan base, as some fans were upset about a home game being scheduled on a Sunday, leading to some heated discussion amongst fans and even a few petitions on change.org regarding the matter.
In the end, however, that controversy seemed to be a non-starter as Real reported a sellout (including nearly 2,000 tickets sold on Sunday morning) and empty seats appeared to be few for the national TV broadcast.
On the pitch, a few interesting decisions by referee Hilario Grejeda, a couple of called-back goals, physical play throughout the match, and both teams’ desire to win led to things nearly spiraling out of control after the final whistle had blown, as players confronted each other near the center circle.
Ultimately, defensive lapses and moments of individual brilliance were what would determine the game’s outcome (refereeing aside). Neither side looked particularly great early on, but RSL slowly found its rhythm and Luke Mulholland’s diving header (on a Javier Morales assist) gave the home side the lead going into the halftime break.
TFC came out looking better in the second half, but Real’s defense seemed equal to the task until Jackson managed to dance through the center of the Real defense and equalize late in the match. However, in stoppage time, Jordan Allen found himself alone in front of goal and easily slotted home another well-timed service from Morales to give the home side the victory.
The result was particularly galling for the visitors, who felt aggrieved by a number of factors, the least of which was Nick Hagglund’s goal being called back for a questionable foul. Toronto head coach Greg Vanney said:
“I told the guys we need to control the things we can control, which is ourselves and be better defensively and be confident on how we are going to play. The things we can’t control have to get better too, but that isn’t something we can work on. It is tough to play 7 games on the road. I thought our guys battled, and I thought we put ourselves in position to get something out of this game, and it was unfortunate we had the letdown at the end to not get something out of this game.”
TFC fans might be justifiably upset today, but RSL fans ought to be excited about more than the result. Allen’s game-winning goal (the first of his MLS career) and Sebastian Saucedo’s stoppage-time debut are signs of promise for the future. Both Allen and Saucedo came out of the RSL academy system and appear to be making the most of their opportunities with the first team, particularly Allen, whose season in 2014 was cut short by injury.
Real head coach Jeff Cassar noted Allen’s impact after the match, stating:
“It’s good when young players can gain that experience in that type of game and also to come through. And I’ve got to imagine that his confidence is going to be high. The staff and myself have confidence in all of our players and Jordan came through tonight.”
That’s the real takeaway from a match that was far from stellar for either team — RSL’s future looks bright. Which is no small feat for a “small-market” team.
