Real Salt Lake (10-12-6, 36 pts, 5thth West) hits the road this week, as the team's push for the 2006 MLS playoffs continues this Saturday at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, against Western Conference-leading FC Dallas. First kick for the critical match is 6:30 p.m. MT and can be seen live on Direct Kick. FSN Utah will televise the game on a two-hour tape delay, with the broadcast set to begin at 8:30 p.m. MT. The game can also be heard on Sports Radio 1280 the Zone
On the heels of RSL's dramatic 3-2, come-from-behind victory Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, RSL Head Coach John Ellinger knows that Colin Clarke's FC Dallas squad will be looking for some payback.
"They will come out motivated, not only because we beat them at our place last Saturday, but because this will be their third chance to clinch a playoff spot," said Ellinger. "I am certain Dallas will be looking to get that detail out of the way, so I am anticipating quite a firestorm from them during the game's first 15-20 minutes. We have to be able to weather the storm and look to create counter chances going the other way."
"It hurts not having Carey (Talley) in the lineup, but on the other hand, getting Jeff (Cunningham) back will be a nice boost," continued Ellinger. "We have to approach every game from here on out the same way we approached the second half on Saturday; with urgency, intensity and that same 'refuse-to-lose' attitude. If we can beat them after going a man down, there is no reason we shouldn't believe we can beat them at their place."
RSL CAPTURES VICTORY OVER FC DALLAS IN DRAMATIC FASHION: Real Salt Lake enters Saturday's game in Dallas following what many around the team are calling the biggest victory in team history. Last Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, RSL came back from a one-goal deficit on two separate occasions to capture a 3-2 victory over FC Dallas despite playing most of the match a man down after RSL MF Carey Talley was sent off in the game's 33rd minute for an aggressive tackle on FC Dallas MF Ronnie O'Brien.
With the chance to clinch a playoff spot with a victory, Dallas got on the scoreboard only four minutes into the match. FW Abe Thompson sent a defense-splitting ball through to O'Brien, who then slipped a brisk cross to Carlos Ruiz who needed only to tap in for his first goal in 11 games. The RSL defense looked to the officials, hoping for an apparent offsides call, but the goal stood and FC Dallas drew first blood.
Real Salt Lake responded quickly and were nearly rewarded in the eighth minute on a glancing header from MF Chris Klein. RSL MF Mehdi Ballouchy sent a free kick into the penalty area, where Klein redirected the chance, but did not put enough touch on it as it sailed wide of the far post.
Just five minutes later, RSL drew level through MF Andy Williams in the 13th minute after a flurry of action in front of the Hoops' goal. RSL FW Jason Kreis turned his man just outside of the area and rifled a blast that a diving Dallas GK Dario Sala deflected away from goal. The deflection fell to Williams at the top of the box, where the veteran playmaker sublimely chipped the ball over Sala and high into the far side netting to draw the teams level at 1-1.
In the 27th minute, O'Brien aggressively knocked Talley down at midfield, resulting in RSL's emotional leader falling to the turf, with O'Brien receiving a yellow card on the play. But six minutes later, Talley tackled O'Brien from a difficult angle and was sent off for the infraction by referee Ricardo Salazar.
Just before intermission Ruiz struck again. Thompson sent another deadly through-ball to the Hoops striker, who beat RSL GK Scott Garlick with a low hard drive into the net, giving Dallas a 2-1 lead going into the locker room.
Emerging from the locker room in a 3-5-1 formation, RSL leveled the match for a second time off a strike from Klein in the game's 62nd minute. A quickly taken free kick by Andy Williams put Klein through, and the Salt Lake winger melted the Rice-Eccles turf with a scorching low blast into the far post to tie the game at 2-2. The goal was Klein's fifth in the last eight games, and the second consecutive game in which he provided the equalizer.
In the 64th minute, Kreis lined up a free kick that bent over the Dallas wall before and appeared to be hading for the back of the net, but the effort was palmed away by Sala, much to the relief of the visiting Hoops. However, the all-time leading scorer in MLS history wasn't to be denied eight minutes later. Klein sent a ball from midfield to the right wing for RSL FW Atiba Harris, who banged a line drive across the mouth of the Dallas goal. Kreis leapt forward and got enough of his boot on the cross to poke it into the net for his seventh goal of the season and the 107th of his illustrious career.
Former FC Dallas GK Garlick made three of his seven saves over the final five-plus minutes as RSL held on for the win to take all three points and keep alive its hopes of a first-ever postseason berth, while denying Dallas from clinching for a second consecutive game. For the first time this season, Dallas dropped a game in which it scored first, falling to 11-1-3 when taking a 1-0 lead, and also surrendered a halftime lead for the first time this season, falling to 8-1-1. On the other hand, RSL improved to a league-leading 4-8-4 when allowing the first goal, and to 4-4-2 when trailing at half. Amazingly, only Dallas and Chicago have won even once when behind after 45 minutes.
HISTORY MADE SATURDAY IN RSL COMEBACK: Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium, for just the sixth time in MLS history (1,853 regular-season games), a team emerged victorious after scoring the tying goal and the go-ahead goal after playing at a man disadvantage:
DATE MATCHUP RESULT EJECTED EQUALIZER GAME-WINNER
09/16/2006 RSL vs DAL RSL, 3-2 Talley 33 Klein 62 Kreis 72
07/04/2005 COL vs KC COL, 2-1 Peguero 40 Nkong 57 Cooke 61
06/02/2001 CHI at DC CHI, 2-1 Curtain 59 Wynalda 76 Kovalenko 79
08/12/2000 MET vs NE MET, 2-1(OT) Shak 68 Valencia 88 Valencia 93
05/13/2000 MIA at COL MIA, 2-1 Gutierrez 55 Heaps 74 Lassiter 79
04/11/1998 LA at MET LA, 3-2 Fraser 46 Hendrickson 70 Mathis 86
RSL endured the double-edged sword that comes from an early red card, taking advantage of the 57-minute "glut" to notch the equalizer and game-winner, but also not allowing Dallas to wear down the defense.
Interestingly, current RSL MF Andy Williams and former RSL MF Brian Kamler were both on the field for the Miami Fusion on May 13, 2000, an accomplished the same feat after teammate Henry Gutierrez was sent off at Colorado. Former RSL MF Clint Mathis, coming on as a substitute during his rookie season, became the first-ever MLS player to score the game-winning goal in the short-handed, come-from-behind situation, leading the Los Angeles Galaxy to a win in New York against the MetroStars.
MORE HISTORY: The veterans came through again for Real Salt Lake in its 3-2 victory over FC Dallas on Saturday night, as RSL's goals were scored by Jason Kreis, Chris Klein, and Andy Williams. That's the fourth different group of three Real Salt Lake players with at least 150 games of MLS experience to score in the same game this season. No other team in MLS history has accomplished the feat even once, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The list (# of games):
09/16/2006 RSL vs DAL W 3-2 Chris Klein (228), Jason Kreis (297), Andy Williams (194)
08/09/2006 RSL at COL W 4-1 Chris Brown (172), Jeff Cunningham (229), Chris Klein (221)
07/26/2006 RSL vs CHV T 3-3 Jeff Cunningham (227), Carey Talley (214), Andy Williams (185)
07/14/2006 RSL at NE W 3-1 Jeff Cunningham (225), Chris Klein (217), Jason Kreis (287)
WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE TIGHTENS FOR STRETCH RUN: With only four games remaining for each Western Conference teams, the race for one of the four West playoff spots is still wide open. Only FC Dallas (14-10-4, 46 pts.) appear to be a lock for the postseason, as the Hoops still own a comfortable six-point lead over second-place Houston Dynamo (10-8-10, 40 pts.).
The Dynamo are feeling the pressure from both Chivas USA (9-7-12, 39 pts.) and the Colorado Rapids (11-11-6, 39 pts.), who play each other Saturday night and enter that game only a single point behind the Dynamo and only three points ahead of RSL. Real Salt Lake (10-12-6-, 36 pts.) remains right in the thick of things, as RSL currently stands fifth in the West, but only four points out of second place and three points behind Chivas and the Rapids. The Los Angeles Galaxy (9-13-6, 33 pts.) are still alive, just three points behind RSL and owning a home schedule with round out the Western Conference standings. The top four teams in each conference qualify for the MLS playoffs.
RSL FW ATIBA HARRIS CALLED INTO NATIONAL TEAM CAMP FOR ST. KITTS AND NEVIS: Real Salt Lake FW Atiba Harris, who assisted on Jason Kreis' game-winning goal against FC Dallas last Saturday, has been called into camp for the St. Kitts and Nevis Men's National Team in preparation for the Caribbean Zone qualification stage on the road to the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Play begins Wednesday for St. Kitts and Nevis, as it takes on Barbados in the first game of the Group B matches. The other teams in St. Kitts and Nevis' group include: Antiga and Barbuda, Anguilla and Barbados. The top two teams from each group will qualify.
FIDDLERS ELBOW/SALT LAKE PIZZA AND PASTA TO HOST RSL AWAY GAME WATH PARTY: Real Salt Lake fans from all across the Wasatch Front are invited to Fiddlers Elbow/Salt Lake Pizza and Pasta (1063 East, 2100 South, Sugarhouse) for another Real Salt Lake away game watch party! Don't miss out on the action this Saturday as Real Salt Lake looks to continue the team's quest for the 2006 MLS playoffs against FC Dallas. First Kick for the critical match is 6:30 p.m. MT. Be sure to arrive early to ensure good seating! "First Kick", the official pre-game show of Real Salt Lake on Sports Radio 700 The Zone will be broadcasting live, on-site starting at 5:30 p.m. MT.
Fiddlers Elbow is a pub/restaurant where you must be 21 year old to gain entrance, while Salt Lake Pizza and Pasta is a family friendly environment. Both entities share the same ownership and are located in the same building.
