It didn't matter Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales collected a pair of assists to become the MLS co-leader in the category on Saturday night.
Morales dismissed it as nothing more than a statistic and one that didn't prove all that useful, in his opinion, by game's end.
"I would have liked it more if we were able to win," Morales said.
David Beckham spoiled those well-laid RSL victory plans at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Beckham denied RSL a chance at its second MLS victory of the season, using a pair of long-distance goals late in the first half to help the Los Angeles Galaxy force a 2-2 tie.
His initial score came in the 36th minute. Receiving the ball on the right side, well out from the corner of the box, Beckham sailed it high inside the far post. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando tucked and rolled in a desperate effort to create a save out of thin air, but he could not get a hand on the ball.
The first goal took RSL by surprise. His second goal had the effect of kicking them while they were down.
Los Angeles evened the score four minutes later when Beckham sent a direct free kick outside the penalty area high and arching over the wall and Rimando's head. The ball dropped down behind him for the tying goal.
"It's disappointing to lose a two-goal lead," RSL forward Kenny Deuchar said. "There's a lot of plus points in the performance, but we've got to kill teams off when we get two goals in front."
For the first 20 minutes of the match, it looked like RSL would add the Galaxy to a growing list of opponents who left Utah with a lopsided loss.
The RSL side found the net quickly, opening the scoring in the sixth minute on a goal from Fabian Espindola. Morales sent a long booming service deep inside the penalty area to Espindola. Espindola settled the ball and calmly slotted it through the feet of goalkeeper Steve Cronin.
RSL scored its second goal of the match in the 18th minute on a header from Deuchar. Morales sent a cross from the near side of the penalty area to the far side where Deuchar was stationed. He quickly headed the ball past the post and into the upper corner of the net.
Deuchar nearly rescued RSL after Beckham's barrage with another goal in the 43rd minute. Kyle Beckerman plowed through the defense and sent a crisp cross to Deuchar in front of an open net.
Deuchar knocked the ball home alongside the far post. But what looked to be RSL's go-ahead goal was disallowed for offside.
"At the time I thought it was onside, but I'd like to see it again," Deuchar said.
RSL never seemed to recover from that call. The offense struggled to generate anything as close to a go-ahead goal in the second half. But the good news is L.A. had similar troubles.
The Galaxy's best game-breaking chance came in the 73rd minute when Beckham sent a 30-yard free kick spiraling to Landon Donovan. Donovan had acres of open space in front of the net to deliver a header. But, at the last minute, Rimando came out of nowhere to palm the ball away and deflected it around the post for the save.
"He was there when we needed him the most," RSL coach Jason Kreis said of Rimando's second-half effort. "He was there to make those special saves."
Kreis felt like his team did well in some areas, like making Donovan a virtual non-factor through 90 minutes of play. But he felt disappointed with seeing the initial aggressiveness fizzle away.
"I think there was defensive problems because we weren't doing a good enough job -- as we did in the first 20 minutes -- of locking them into their half," Kreis said.
Real saw the difference attacking the Galaxy made in their fortunes. When they actively went at the Galaxy defense, they scored. When they didn't, Beckham rose to the occasion and snatched away a victory almost by himself.
For the RSL side, seeing the missed chances only makes the tie feel taste that much more bitter.
"We've got to be more ruthless," Deuchar said. "When we've got teams with their backs against the wall, we've got to go for the jugular, really, and finish them off."
John Coon is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
