SANDY, Utah—Real Salt Lake’s unbeaten start to the season rolls on, and Joao Plata has been a major ingredient.
The Ecuadorian has now had a hand in eight of his team's 10 goals scored this year. On Saturday he found the seventh RSL player to score a goal in six games, as Juan Manuel “Burrito” Martinez scored his first goal of the campaign to earn a 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.
“Salt Lake's front three are very dangerous,” said Vancouver head coach Carl Robinson. “They're on form at the moment. They score a number of goals and create a number of chances and you only need one chance to score a goal.”
Burrito admitted he needed two chances to net the game-winner on Saturday.
“We talk about take the first chance to score,” Martinez said. “Today I had two chances and I scored on the second one.”
Martinez ranks second on the team with two assists and has shown ample skill on the ball, even when hemmed in by two and three defenders.
“He does some really special things,” said RSL head coach Jeff Cassar. “He got out of some really tricky situations.”
With Saturday's victory, RSL remain the lone unbeaten team in MLS. They believe there’s still plenty of room for improvement to boot, even on the offensive side of the ball, which has been a strength through the first six games.
“All of our attacking players are really talented and when they're playing with each other, you can do special things,” Cassar said. “You can do some things you necessarily don't think are going to happen, because you trust the player that is going to be giving the ball to you. I think we can get even better.”
Burrito has shown that spark, especially playing alongside Plata and Yura Movsisyan. He won Saturday's contest with a simple little flick inside and a composed shot to the far post.
It wasn’t the first time he’s tried it, but it was the first time it worked for him in an RSL jersey.
“That was my intention,” Martinez said. “Sometimes it works and sometimes not.”
