AUSTIN, TX - Houston 1836 continued its 2006 preseason schedule at Round Rock ISD Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Saturday February 25, falling to Real Salt Lake 2-1 in front of 2,600 fans.
The rain had ended by the time the game started, causing the turf field to be wet and making it difficult for both teams. Despite the slick conditions of the field, Houston 1836 controlled the first half with multiple opportunities created by right midfielder Brian Mullan.
However, it was Real Salt Lake that struck first in the 27th minute, by Kevin Novak.
"It's tough to get used to the conditions, but we did some good things in the 1st half", said Houston 1836 forward, Alejandro Moreno.
Moreno scored his second preseason goal in the 36th minute off a cross from Brian Mullan. Moreno's goal evened the score at one goal a piece in response to Real Salt Lake's goal by Novak.
Center back Ryan Cochrane went down with a left knee injury in the 22nd minute. Craig Waibel came into the game for Cochrane. Patrick Ianni also suffered an injury to his right knee in the 55th minute. Both backlines were injured as a consequence of a physical game.
"We lost the rhythm and we lost the ball in the second half. We made a lot of mistakes and a team like this would take advantage of that. We will continue to get better and more fit", said Moreno.
Houston 1836 leaves for LA on Tuesday, February 28, for another series of pre-season matches against Chivas USA, the MetroStars, and the LA Galaxy.
Scoring summary:
HOUSTON 1836 1 0 1
RSL 1 1 2
Real Salt Lake - Kevin Novak (Mehdi Ballouchy), 19'
Houston 1836 - Alejandro Moreno (Brian Mullan) 36'
Real Salt Lake - Jamie Watson (Andy Williams) 79'
Yellow cards: Patrick Ianni (58th)
Lineups:
Houston 1836: Pat Onstad (Zach Wells, 46th), Wade Barrett (Stuart Holden, 46th), Ryan Cochrane (Craig Waibel, 24th), Kelly Gray (Mike Chabala, 46th), Kevin Goldthwaite, Eddie Robinson (Mpho Moloi, 46th), Brad Davis (Chris Wondolowski, 46th, Patrick Ianni (Aaron Lanes, 58th), Brian Mullan (Marcus Storey, 46th), Ronald Cerritos (Julian Nash, 46th), Alejandro Moreno (Andre Schmid, 46th)
Real Salt Lake: Jay Nolly: Chris Brown, Carey Talley, Nelson Akwari, Gustavo Cabrera (Danny Torres, 45th), Mehdi Ballouchy (Kenny Cutler, 80); Douglas Sequeira, Andy Williams, Kevin Novak (Ryan Johnson, 45); Atiba Harris (Jamie Watson, 75th), Jeff Cunningham.
