SALT LAKE CITY - There were more than just a couple of Real Salt Lake players that had a point to prove to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
Not only did Kyle Beckerman and Chris Wingert have reason to show up the Rapids, for trading them away to RSL earlier this season, but the rest of the team meant to show Colorado that the Rocky Mountain Cup was not safe in Commerce City yet this year.
RSL got a rebound goal from Kyle Brown at the 30-minute mark, then made it stand up for the remainder of the game as they claimed a 1-0 victory in a driving rainstorm at Rice-Eccles Stadium and evened the competition between the two regional rivals. Each club has now won once this season, with a third meeting a draw; they conclude their season series in Colorado in the regular season finale for both teams.
Real coach Jason Kreis made some significant changes to his lineup for the game, leaving long-time starters Eddie Pope and Carey Talley out of the top 11. Also, with Alecko Eskandarian unavailable because of yellow-card accumulation, a number of players had their chance to start. Chris Lancos started in place of Jean-Martial Kipre, and Atiba Harris and Kyle Brown also played from the opening kickoff.
Without Pope in the starting lineup, Kreis gave the captain's armband to Kyle Beckerman. Doubtless, having the captaincy was a big motivator for Beckerman in his first game against the Rapids, who traded him away earlier in the season. Chris Wingert, who also played with the Rapids earlier this season, started on defense.
Colorado head coach Fernando Clavijo had a big change of his own, with Conor Casey out to a knee injury suffered during the week. Casey had two goals and an assist in his last four games; he was replaced by Jacob Peterson. In addition, with both Facundo Erpen and Pablo Mastroeni suspended, Kosuke Kimura made his MLS debut at right back while Stephen Keel made his first career start.
Colorado had the first shot on goal after RSL's Atiba Harris gave the ball up in the midfield, allowing Peterson to run into the area and take a right-footed shot towards the far left post. The ball got past Real goalkeeper Nick Rimando, but missed the goal by a ball's width.
Real answered with a free kick just minutes later. Andy Williams shot it from outside the left corner of Colorado's penalty box, but missed wide of the far right post. In the 21st minute, Williams had another free kick from the same spot after Kimura fouled Wingert, but this time Colorado sent a deflection out of the area.
Colorado's Tony Sanneh got a yellow card for a foul on Kyle Brown in the 28th minute; Brown got the Rapids back and made a statement on his rare start by scoring in the 30th minute.
Beckerman got the ball in midfield with space to run into, then forwarded the ball to Chris Brown above the left side of the area. Chris Brown shot, and Colorado goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul deflected it right to Kyle Brown right in front of the goal. Kyle put the rebound away from six yards out, and Real had a 1-0 lead.
At halftime, Kreis replaced Williams with Talley, doubtless allowing the starter to recover from a handful of hard bumps taken in the first half. With the rain coming down hard and soaking the artificial turf at Rice-Eccles Stadium, neither team could manage must offense in the early going of the second half.
Colorado's Mehdi Ballouchy, acquired by the Rapids in the trade that sent Beckerman to Salt Lake, was replaced in the 63rd minute by Jose Cancela. The Rapids also took Terry Cooke out of the game in favor of Omar Cummings.
Kreis also made some moves, meaning to solidify his team throughout the field while keeping the offensive pressure going. He replaced Kyle Brown with Javier Morales in the 62nd minute, then in the 73rd minute, replaced Movsisyan with Morales.
In the 75th minute, Real appealed for a penalty kick when Morales attacked the right post from 10 yards out. Morales was bumped to the ground by the Rapids defense, but no call was made and the Real faithful in attendance protested loudly.
Still, with the rain beginning to slant in the wind, both teams struggled to create many offensive chances to the end of the game. The Rapids' best chance came in the 85th minute when Cancela hit a 28-yard free kick; the ball flew like a rocket towards the right side of the net, but Real goalie Nick Rimando was up to the task.
Like the rain, Rimando went sideways in making the save, then deflecting the ball away in the subsequent scramble in the box to preserve Real's lead.
The victory preserved Real's slim playoff dreams; they now have 23 points, ending the night eight points out of the final playoff spot with four games still to play. But it might have done more damage to the Rapids. With the loss, they remain at 28 points, three behind the tie between Chicago and Columbus in eighth place overall, with the Fire still to play on Sunday afternoon (at home against D.C. United).
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
