Even the most loyal Real Salt Lake fan would not have predicted a victory Saturday night against D.C. United.
Real entered the game at the bottom of the Major League Soccer standings; D.C. had more than three times as many victories, had 28 more points in the standings and had been hailed as one of the best teams MLS has ever seen. And United hadn't lost in 14 games.
But despite the odds, Real came away with a 2-1 victory when Jeff Cunningham buried a pair of penalty kicks in the final six minutes of the game. Real detractors and D.C. fans might discount the result, saying the game was handed to the home team at Rice-Eccles Stadium with the penalty kicks, but RSL coach John Ellinger and his players never will.
"They will go back and say it was two penalty kicks," Ellinger said. "In their eyes it might be tainted, but it won't be tainted in our eyes, because they were well-earned goals for us."
D.C. gave away the first penalty kick in the 90th minute after a pass from Cunningham went to Mehdi Ballouchy near the top of the penalty box. Ballouchy was taken down by defender John Wilson, and referee Abbey Okulaja pointed to the spot. Cunningham's shot hit the upper right corner of the goal to make the score 1-1 as the clock reached the 90 minutes of regulation..
Then, in the final minute of stoppage time, Chris Klein intercepted a pass to the right of the goal area and was immediately taken down by Wilson. Several players argued after the call, and Wilson and Real's Jamie Watson were both shown yellow cards, but Cunningham ignored the debate as he waited by the spot for the ball.
"I was just trying not to get caught up in all of that, and just focus on what I needed to do on the penalty kick," Cunningham said. "I didn't even go over there, I was just mentally trying to prepare myself."
With stoppage time running past the five minutes originally allotted, Cunningham sent his second penalty kick inside the right post as United goalkeeper Troy Perkins dove to the left.
Okulaja blew the whistle after the goal, and Real had their first win at home against an MLS team since June 3.
It was the exact opposite ending for Real than what they experienced in their last two games. Against Chivas USA on Wednesday and against Dallas last Saturday, Real gave up a stoppage-time goal and let their position in the standings slide. It was an issue Ellinger had been working with his team to change.
"I can take that one off the list now, at least for a little while," Ellinger said.
Thirty-one fouls were called in the match, and four yellow cards were shown. United committed 18 fouls, and Real committed 13. Both teams, however, got away with plenty of hard knocks.
Many times this season, Real have felt they deserved more than they got out of their matches. Saturday's result, then, made it seem the fortunes are starting to go the other way.
"Sooner or later, we've got to feel like we're going to get some breaks," Ellinger said. "But then again, we made our own breaks."
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
