Creating a stronger home-field advantage has been a point of emphasis for Real Salt Lake coming into this season. Against D.C. United, RSL showed that road trips to Salt Lake City aren't going to be a pleasant experience in 2008.
RSL routed United 4-0 for its first win of the season on Saturday night behind a pair of goals from Kyle Beckerman and a pair of assists from Dema Kovalenko.
It was the largest margin of victory in RSL history and tied the team record for most goals in a game.
Jose Carvallo made his MLS debut at Rice-Eccles Stadium. His first game as starting goalkeeper for D.C. turned out to be a rocky one.
RSL jumped on United early after receiving a nice boost from Kovalenko on the playmaking end. He assisted on both of the team's first half goals -- his first points since being traded to Salt Lake during the offseason.
Beckerman struck first in the 12th minute, putting RSL on the board when he took a cross from Kovalenko on the run and slid the ball alongside the near post past Carvallo from the top of the area.
Kovalenko then found Fabian Espindola in the 19th minute with a long booming lob which came down inside the box. Espindola controlled the ball and fired at the net from a sideways angle. His shot barreled past both Gonzalo Peralta and Carvallo and created a two-goal advantage for RSL.
It marked only the third time an RSL player has had two assists in a half and the fifth time overall for an RSL player to achieve that feat in a game.
Devon McTavish did his best to answer for United but could not plot a workable trajectory past RSL the hands of goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
Rimando initally rebuffed McTavish in the 25th minute and stopped him again in the 33rd minute. His second save came after McTavish fired the ball from along the far side of the box and Rimando stretched out sideways to yank the ball out of the air.
Kenny Deuchar was issued a yellow card in the 30th minute for dissent. Deuchar continued to argue with the referee after committing three fouls in a three minute span. The Scotland native picked up back-to-back fouls against Peralta in the 28th and 29th minute and he committed a third against McTavish in the 30th minute.
It provided an adequate snapshot of the physical nature of the first half. RSL and United combined for 16 fouls before halftime.
United didn't start off the half in good fashion. Rod Dyachenko was issued a yellow card in the 48th minute after he kicked Javier Morales in the head while trying to knock the ball out of bounds.
Clyde Simms picked up another yellow card in the 58th minute when he tackled Morales from behind while trying to wrestle away the ball from him. A subsequent direct free kick for Morales looked to be a sure goal until Carvallo deflected the ball with his fingertips at the last second.
Meanwhile, RSL stepped up its attack on the offensive end. Real earned a prime chance to extend their lead in the 51st minute when Kenny Deuchar raced to a long ball that cleared past United's backline. Deuchar took aim at an empty net when Carvallo rushed out to impede his drive, but his shot sailed high and left of frame.
Following Morales' long bomb in the 58th minute, Espindola headed the ball right into Carvallo in the 60th minute. Deuchar looked to cash in with a goal in the 75th minute when he received a corner kick from Andy Williams. He found prime real estate in front of the net, but headed the ball too high and it sailed over the crossbar.
RSL finally scored its third goal in the 77th minute after Robbie Findley dropped the ball back to Beckerman and, without hesitation, the midfielder buried the ball behind Carvallo.
Findley provided the team's final goal himself with an unassisted header in the 87th minute. Peralta struggled with a ball bouncing off the turf and Findley was able to head it away from the defender, sailing it over Carvallo's head and into the net.
John Coon is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
