Real Salt Lake suffered their first loss of the season against Vancouver Whitecaps at Rio Tinto Stadium. Darren Mattocks scored the solitary goal of the game, as the home side were hit by red cards to Sebastian Saucedo and Jamison Olave.
The visitors were coming into the game after having their unbeaten record broken at San Jose last week, whereas RSL were hoping to build on their own unbeaten (2-0-3) streak. Jeff Cassar’s men, however, were missing the services of playmaker Javier Morales, who was out with a hamstring strain.
The first half was a cagey affair with very few clear-cut chances for either sides. The best chance of the half came to RSL in the 4th minute of play, when RSL forward Alvaro Saborio beat the WhiteCaps line and was through on goal. His finish from the one-on-one situation, however, left a lot to be desired.
The early miss seemed to set the tone for RSL and would prove to be costly in the context of the match.
Vancouver started the better side in the second half, as the home midfield continued to concede possession cheaply. The tight nature of the game favored the Whitecaps as the match went on; however, both sides were guilty of launching hopeful balls upfield with no one at the end of them.
RSL did have an opening in the 63rd minute, when a deep cross from Olmes Garcia found Alvaro Saborio in the box. The forward’s header was comfortable for Whitecaps keeper David Ousted.
Whitecaps did have a chance of their own in the 66th minute, when forward Octavio Rivero latched on to a deep ball from defense. Rivero did well to hold off the last man Tony Beltran in the RSL box, but would be disappointed to miss the target.
The key moment of the night came in the 76th minute, when RSL were down to ten men after substitute Sebastian Saucedo was sent off. Saucedo, who had earlier come on for Jordan Allen, went in with a nasty tackle on Whitecaps midfielder Mauro Rosales.
The call was not the most popular among the RSL faithful but replays appeared to suggest that Saucedo did go in with his studs up.
The team in white made the advantage count soon, as Darren Mattocks ghosted into the box to latch on to a Russell Teibert cross from the left wing. Teibert did well to catch the RSL defense off-guard, and Mattocks timed his run well to head in from close range.
The visitors were largely in control during the latter stages as RSL could barely create goal-scoring chances to level the score. The misery for the hosts’ culminated in the 89th minute when Jamison Olave was shown a second yellow for a pull on Mattocks.
As the match went into stoppage time, Rivero had an opportunity to put the game to bed after having had RSL 2 v 1 in a counter-attack. The forward’s effort, however, never tested Rimando.
The decision left RSL with a two-man handicap and even with 6 minutes of stoppage time, the task was too steep for the claret-and-cobalt.
The loss leaves RSL with 9 points from 6 games as Whitecaps get back on the winning track, marching on to 16 from 8.
