ORLANDO - Real Salt Lake (1-3-1) again exhibited tenaciousness, resilience and determination as it rebounded from a first-half deficit to tie the game late against the New York Red Bulls Sunday night at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, as MF Kenny Cutler slotted home the equalizer in the 86th minute in a game that ended tied 1-1.
"We need to be committed to working on both sides of the ball," said Ellinger after the game. "But I'm very impressed at the intensity and desire the team played with in the second half, and of the composure we had to come back."
RSL's pressure paid off in the 86th minute, when Talley - now freed to play more of an offensive role - tracked down a ball on the right side and sent a looping arc over everyone's heads and across the box to MF Joey Worthen, who centered the ball to the feet of an onrushing Kenny Cutler, who then slotted the ball home for his first preseason goal.
Once again, RSL deployed its first-choice 11 in a 3-5-2 formation, with FW Atiba Harris returning up top after missing Friday night's game due to a bruised Achilles. The St. Kitts & Nevis attacker was joined by defending MLS Golden Boot Champion Jeff Cunningham. In the midfield, Freddy Adu took the customary spot at attacking mid, with wingers Chris Klein on the right and Mehdi Ballouchy on the left. Both holding positions were occupied by captain Jason Kreis and veteran Carey Talley. On the back line, Eddie Pope organized the group, with Jack Stewart on the right and Danny Torres on the left in front of GK Chase Harrison, starting for the second consecutive night due to stiffness in Scott Garlick's lower back.
RSL came out with a higher level of intensity than it had 48 hours before in the 1-2 loss to Chicago, applying a higher amount of pressure to the opposition. However, NY seemed prepared to deal with RSL's intentions, as the Red Bulls - with former U.S. international Claudio Reyna pulling the strings - deftly executed several one-touch passes and 2-on-1s to create its offense.
Several times during the game's first 20 minutes, New York brought numbers towards the RSL goal, testing GK Harrison and the coordination of the team's defense. RSL had trouble maintaining possession, with excessive dribbling leading to turnovers and giveaways, springing the NY attack. Harris was RSL's most effective weapon during the first 45 minutes, combining nicely with Adu, Cunningham and Ballouchy to get towards the box, but as has been the case during much of the preseason, RSL's final pass or shot was lacking.
In the 37th minute, Ballouchy and New York's Marvell Wynne - both taken back-to-back in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, with Wynne taken first - got mixed up on the sideline, resulting in a red card for Ballouchy and a caution for Wynne. Ballouchy was sent off following what the referee thought was a retaliatory tackle from behind, while Wynne was cautioned for his aggressive anger expressed at the tackle. Despite the red card, RSL remained at even strength, with Cutler - an hour away from being the hero - inserted for Ballouchy after Arena and Ellinger agreed to go 11 v. 11 for preseason training purposes.
Four minutes after Ballouchy's expulsion, NY broke through. DF Seth Stammler won a ball at midfield and played forward to Dave van den Bergh, whose blast from the left corner of the penalty box was a low, driving shot that put the Red Bulls up 1-0.
RSL came out in the second half in a 4-5-1 formation, moving Stewart and Torres into the middle and inserting Willis Forko on the left and Chris Lancos on the right. Joey Worthen came in on the left side of midfield, while GK Kyle Reynish replaced Harrison.
Ballouchy is expected to play with the reserve squad on Monday as the team faces Stetson University at the Disney WWS Complex, and on Wednesday, the reserves will battle the University of Central Florida in the team's final game before returning to Salt Lake City. On Monday, February 26, RSL departs for Madrid, Spain for its overseas preseason stint.
RSL 1:1 NY
Scoring Summary:
NY - van den Bergh (Stammler) 41
RSL - Kenny Cutler (Worthen, Talley) 86
Real Salt Lake - Chase Harrison (Kyle Reynish 46); Jack Stewart, Eddie Pope (Chris Lancos 46), Danny Torres; Carey Talley, Jason Kreis (Willis Forko 46), Chris Klein (Kyle Brown 78), Mehdi Ballouchy (Kenny Cutler 37), Freddy Adu (Duke Hashimoto 75), Atiba Harris (Joey Worthen 46), Jeff Cunningham (Chris Brown 76)
TEJADA STRIKES FOR PANAMA: RSL FW Luis Tejada scored for Panama in UNCAF Group 1 Gold Cup Qualifying in today's Final vs. Costa Rica. The former Plaza Amador star found the back of the net just before halftime to give Panama the lead, but los Cañaleros allowed a second-half goal and lost in a shootout. Despite the result, Panama knew going in that it had qualified for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, to be held June 6-24 in the United States this summer. Tejada will join RSL in Salt Lake City on Thursday, then departing with the squad Monday for Madrid, Spain, for the team's next preseason training stint.
