SALT LAKE CITY - Real Salt Lake have not felt the elation of victory for a long time. And to be sure, after Saturday's 2-1 victory against D.C. United, RSL also feel an added measure of relief.
"It feels very, very good," Real coach Jason Kreis said. "It felt extremely good to go into halftime with a 1-0 result; that was a new feeling for me. Having the lead in the game was a new feeling for me. Thinking about making changes in a defensive manner, that was a new feeling for me. A lot of new feelings for me tonight, but hopefully we are going to have a lot more."
Earlier this week, Kreis traded away team leader and MLS veteran Chris Klein in exchange for Robbie Findley and Nathan Sturgis. After Findley's two-goal performance at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Kreis looks like a pretty smart man.
"He made me look good there," Kreis said.
After acquiring Findley, RSL discovered the rookie had a slight injury. The team also became concerned when Findley left Friday's training session early, struggling to acclimate to the high altitude.
But Kreis heard what he needed to hear, and Findley got the start.
"He said he wanted to start," Kreis said. "At first he was very unsure, but he said he felt good and he was going to go for it. I was very glad for that, because I said 'I brought you here to start, and I'm glad to hear that you want to, so you are going to.' Obviously, a good thing for him and a good thing for us."
In his fourth MLS start, Findley became the 11th player to record multiple goals in a debut with a new team. Modest in victory, he could hardly have imagined his RSL debut going so well.
"It went really well," Findley said. "It was a team effort. If it wasn't for the other guys it wouldn't have happened, but I was able to get the goals, so that's good."
Real appeared to have the advantage throughout the first half. They dominated possession, then scored first when Jean-Martial Kipre played the ball long and high to Findley. He outran the United defense, went one-on-one with United 'keeper Jay Nolly, and slotted the ball to the far left post for a 1-0 lead.
"I just tried to make sure I kept it low and tried to get it in the back of the net," Findley said.
Five minutes into the second half, Findley struck again, this time with a ball from Alecko Eskandarian. Findley collected the ball, charged to the top of the penalty area, then blasted a shot past an onrushing Nolly and into the goal.
"I thought [Findley] and Alecko on the second goal was one of the best combinations I've seen in a long time," Kreis said. "For two players to have that kind of understanding in their first game together bodes very, very well for us."
The assist was Eskandarian's first with RSL.
After the game, the locker room atmosphere was joyful and boisterous, a stark contrast to the feeling in the air after most of the last 15 games during which Real have not earned a win.
"There's no substitution for the feeling of victory, and a lot of the guys in this locker room haven't had that feeling in a while," Eskandarian said. "The guys should be proud, and hopefully that feeling will stick in their heads and then we will go back to work next week and try to get another one."
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
