LAS VEGAS - It was close but not quite for Real Salt Lake, which ended its 2007 preseason on Saturday evening with a 0-0 draw against its Rocky Mountain Cup rivals, the Colorado Rapids, at Peter Johann Memorial Field in Las Vegas. MF Kenny Cutler nearly pushed RSL into the lead in the match's waning moments, only to see his shot two minutes deep into second half injury time hit the left post, leaving the match at zeroes. With the tie, Real Salt Lake finished the preseason with a 7-5-4 record, which included a five-game undefeated streak (4-0-1) to end the two-month preparation period.
The match heated up with a scary moment in the seventh minute when RSL DF Jack Stewart and Rapids FW Nicolas Hernandez knocked heads in mid-air near the penalty spot while going after a threatening cross by Colorado DF Brandon Prideaux, but after a few minutes both players would shake out the cobwebs and return to the match.
After controlling the play for the first 20 minutes, Colorado would get its best chance of the half in the 24th minute off a Real Salt Lake miscue, as DF Eddie Pope chunked a back pass from the midfield stripe that allowed Hernandez to run uncontested towards goal. However, backtracking RSL GK Nick Rimando was bailed out when Hernandez rushed his shot from 25 yards out and miss-hit a ball himself, the resulting shot taking two hops straight to Rimando.
After being spared a certain deficit, Real Salt Lake saw its offense heat up moments after, starting with MF Freddy Adu's laser from 28 yards that nearly skimmed the crossbar. Rapids DF Greg Vanney would play spoiler on an Adu run up the gut just a minute later, the youngster not getting any sympathy from referee Richard Heron after getting bumped to the ground by the veteran defender just inside the penalty area at the end of a lengthy run out of midfield.
Adu would continue the charge moments later when he stroked a curling free kick from just right of the penalty area that Rapids GK Bouna Coundol did well to gather on a tricky short-hop. It was Vanney to the rescue once again in the 33rd minute, as he cut off RSL's Chris Klein to a well-weighted through ball from fellow midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy deep in the right side of the area.
Real Salt Lake's two best chances of the stanza came in the 38th minute, starting on an Adu push-restart from 30 yards out that Klein lashed onto with a wicked right-footed blast that forced Coundol into a diving save. Pope would swoop in to pounce on the rebound, but his shot from just six yards out was pushed over the crossbar.
Three minutes later it was MF Carey Talley's turn to try from distance, and he nearly moved the scoreboard on a blast from 35 yards out that missed just wide of the left post. RSL created another opportunity in the dying moments of the half when Ballouchy played a looping ball behind the Rapids backline for FW Jeff Cunningham, who gathered and cut back left to create plenty of space for a 20-yard shot that missed high and left.
Scoring chances would be few and far between in the second half, but RSL did have a glimmer of hope with another Talley long distance chance in the 51st minute, his skimming 25-yarder towards the right post being bobbled by Coundol before he gathered it in. It appeared the match might open up in the 58th minute for RSL when Prideaux picked up his second caution of the match, this one for a crunching tackle on Cunningham during a run down the left sideline.
Despite having the man advantage, Real would continue to see its offense stymied, and Colorado would actually have the best chances in the middle of the half off a pair of corner kicks, the first being punched away by Rimando while the second went for naught after DF Dan Gargan saw his flashing header sail just high of goal. After dueling cautions in the last five minutes by Colorado MF Jacob Peterson (86th) and Talley (88th) reintroduced some of the bite in the Rocky Mountain Cup series, RSL almost stole the result with Cutler's near heroics in the 92nd minute, his connection off a deflected Adu cross from the left wing drawing woodwork.
With the preseason now in the rear-view mirror, Real Salt Lake will put its full attention on the 2007 MLS regular season, which starts for RSL next Saturday, April 7, at Rice-Eccles Stadium with a Western Conference showdown against FC Dallas at 4:00 p.m. MT. Real Salt Lake fans that can't wait for Saturday to see members of the 2007 squad are invited to join the club during its third annual installment of "Real Week", which kicks off on Monday with the annual RSL Kickoff Luncheon and Fashion Show at the downtown Marriot, benefiting the United Way of Salt Lake. For a full listing of the 2007 Real Week festivities, please visit www.realsaltlake.com.
Scoring Summary
None
Discipline Summary
COL - Brandon Prideaux (caution) 23
COL - Brandon Prideaux (ejection; second caution) 58
COL - Jacob Peterson (caution) 86
RSL - Carey Talley (caution) 88
Real Salt Lake Line-up (4-5-1): GK-Nick Rimando, D-Jack Stewart (Nik Besagno 53), D-Eddie Pope, D-Danny Torres, D-Willis Forko, M-Chris Klein, M-Carey Talley, M-Jason Kreis (Captain) (Kenny Cutler 67), M-Mehdi Ballouchy, M-Freddy Adu, F-Jeff Cunningham (Chris Brown 69).
Colorado Rapids Line-up (4-4-2): GK-Bouna Coundol, D-Brandon Prideaux, D-Mike Petke, D-Ugo Ihemelu, D-Greg Vanney, M-Terry Cooke (Nico Colaluca 81), M-Jovan Kirovski (Pablo Mastroeni 73), M-Kyle Beckerman, M-Hercules Gomez, F-Nicolas Hernandez (Jacob Peterson 77), F-Roberto Brown (Dan Gargan 61).
Referee: Richard Herron
Referee's Assistants: Corey Rockwell, Scott Connor
Fourth Official: Raymundo Baez
Attendance: 2,152
Weather: Clear and 72 degrees
