RICE-ECCLES STADIUM
SALT LAKE, Utah
7:30 pm MT (HDNet; ONN)
A pair of teams whose postseason futures hang by the narrowest of threads play for the first time ever on the Wasatch Front. Real Salt Lake can't afford to lose a single point - or have the Colorado Rapids win one more - if they are to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs in their inaugural season. The Columbus Crew - last year's MLS Supporters' Shield winners - also essentially need to win out if they are to avoid elimination from this year chase to MLS Cup.
REFEREE: Andrew Chapin. SAR (bench): Jose Corro; JAR (opposite): Emiliano Monje; 4th: Feliciano Palomino
MLS Career: 7 games; FC/gm: 29.9; Y/gm: 5.1; R: 2; pens: 1
Games involving Real: first game
Games involving Crew: P2 W0 L2 T0; FC/gm: 32.5; Y/gm: 4.0; R: 0; pens: 0
INJURY REPORT: REAL SALT LAKE - OUT: FW Jason Kreis (L knee partial ACL tear); DF Rustin Pierce (R hamstring strain); PROBABLE: DF Nelson Akwari (L groin strain); MF Chris Brown (L hamstring strain);: DF Eddie Pope (L ankle sprain); FW Dante Washington (R ankle sprain) ... COLUMBUS CREW - OUT: MF Eric Vasquez (R ankle sprain); MF Danny Szetela (head); DF Ryan Kelly (R knee sprain); DF Stephen Herdsman (L groin strain); MF Duncan Oughton (R knee surgery); MD Ross Paule (post-concussion syndrome); GK Jon Busch (R knee); PROBABLE: FW Knox Cameron (groin); MF Chris Henderson (R calf strain)
SUSPENDED: RSL: Brian Dunseth (through Sept. 25)
WARNINGS: RSL: Paul Broome (17 CP/good behavior); Kenny Cutler (10 CP in 2 gms); Clint Mathis (9 add'l CP); Andy Williams (18 CP) ... CLB: Frankie Hejduk (17 CP); Simon Elliott (19 CP)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: RSL: MF Nikolas Besagno (U.S. U-17 national team)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (1 meetings): Real 0 wins, 0 goals ... Crew 1 win, 2 goals ... 0 draws
IN SALT LAKE: first meeting
This is the second of two meetings between the teams this season, the only one in Salt Lake City.
Coaches record: Robert Warzycha vs. RSL: first meeting ... John Ellinger v RSL: P1 W0 L1 T0LAST MEETING
The Columbus Crew put an end to their four-match losing run, getting a pair of first-half goals on their way to a 2-0 victory against Real Salt Lake on May 21 at Crew Stadium. It was a night for the Crew defenders as the home side put an end to their losing streak and recent defensive woes all in one night.
Both goals came from set pieces as the Crew suffocated the Real attack. In the 14th minute, center back Chad Marshall was desperately unlucky not to score his first MLS goal, powering a header off a free kick that Real 'keeper D.J. Countess could only palm off the underside of the bar. The ball came back down on the fallen 'keeper and Hejduk slipped in to poke it the final couple of inches.
Hejduk had no doubt when he hit for his second in the 37th minute, Simon Elliott whipping in a cross from the left on a well-worked short corner to find the U.S. international unmarked in the center of the area, and he sent his header just inside the right-hand post.
The Crew survived after being left a man down for the final 13 minutes when Cornell Glen was sent off with a straight red card.
Here's Greg Andrulis's team that night (4-4-2): Jon Busch - Frankie Hejduk, Robin Fraser, Chad Marshall, Stephen Herdsman (Domenic Mediate 46) - Mario Rodriguez, Simon Elliott, Chris Wingert, Kyle Martino (Ryan Kelly 79) - Edson Buddle (Knox Cameron 74), Cornell Glen
Here's John Ellinger's team (4-1-4-1): D.J. Countess - Rusty Pierce, Brian Dunseth, Eddie Pope, Nelson Akwari - Brian Kamler - Chris Brown (Seth Trembly 89), Clint Mathis, Andy Williams, Leslie Fitzpatrick (Dante Washington 63) - Jason KreisREAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake still have a chance to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs by the slimmest of threads, after falling 2-0 to the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night in Denver. Real have 19 points from 27 matches - now 15 points behind the Rapids with five matches to play, needing to win out and by huge margins to claim a place in the postseason.
The Rapids pulled 15 points ahead of RSL with five matches remaining in gaining the upper hand for the Rocky Mountain Cup- meaning the best Real can hope for is to tie Colorado in the Western Conference though they would still have to overcome a minus-29 goal difference.
Jean-Philippe Peguero opened the scoring just after the start of the second half. His speculative shot hit a defender and bounced straight up in the air - but Rapids defender Eric Denton was first to it in the RSL area. He poked it back to Peguero, and he made no mistake driving it past D.J. Countess (49).
The Rapids put the game away in the 87th minute under bizarre circumstances. The ball was played back to RSL midfielder Andy Williams at midfield, but he made no move toward it and instead appeared to have suffered a leg cramp. Terry Cooke quickly intercepted and streaked down the wing before sending in a cross that found a wide-open Dedi Ben Dayan, who settled the ball before curling it into the far corner of the net for his first career MLS goal.
Real head coach John Ellinger made three changes to the team that lost 2-1 to FC Dallas on Sunday afternoon at Pizza Hut Park. With center back Brian Dunseth and midfielder Kenny Cutler both suspended, Andy Williams and Clint Mathis returned to the team. Jamie Watson also came back into the side as Ellinger partnered him in attack with Melvin Tarley, Seth Trembly returning to the substitutes' bench.
Here's Ellinger's team (3-4-1-2): D.J. Countess - Gustavo Cabrera, Eddie Pope, Paul Broome - Adolfo Gregorio (Chris Brown 70), Brian Kamler (Seth Trembly 69), Andy Williams, Robert Scarlett - Clint Mathis (Leslie Fitzpatrick 71) - Jamie Watson, Melvin Tarley
"We're not playing poorly. Again it's the fourth time in five games we've played well enough we could've won the game, but we just haven't won," Ellinger said. "We just have to find ways to win games, what's been going on most of the year is we're finding ways to lose games."TEAM NEWS
Despite coming in with a lengthy losing streak, needing to win out to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs and again playing on the road - where they have taken just a single point on the year - Ellinger returned to a two-forward scheme with Clint Mathis back in the lineup playing underneath the two in an attacking role.
"We were just going to take it to them from the start, and why not, why sit back and play defensive. We just seemed to be playing better with three forwards," Ellinger said.
Real could still match the record of the Los Angeles Galaxy, who became the first team ever to fail to win on their travels when they went 0-9-6 in 15 away games in 2003. "We have two games left, we need to win an away game. We want to win, we don't want to finish the season with 12 straight losses," Ellinger said.
After nearly hitting rock-bottom in a 5-1 loss to D.C. United on Aug. 31 - a game which ended a stretch of four losses where Real had allowed 14 goals - they have bettered their performance over the last three games, though still without a point over that time. They've allowed five goals in the past three games - but scored just one goal.
"The last three games have been really good, but once again the key moments of the game just haven't been going our way," defender Paul Broome said. "It has really been the last month and a half or so that we have really had a chance to win, but there's that one time in the game when the ball doesn't seem to bounce your way and you end up losing the game by one goal. That is something that is in front of us that is a really frustrating thing. You give the effort but you don't see the results."COLUMBUS CREW
The Columbus Crew saw their fleeting postseason hopes take a late hit, allowing another dramatic goal in stoppage time by the New England Revolution before settling for a 1-1 draw Wednesday night at Crew Stadium. The Crew now have 31 points from 27 matches for sixth place in the Eastern Conference, 12 points behind fourth-place Kansas City Wizards with just 15 possible points remaining.
The Crew had appeared to have snatched a vital victory from the Eastern Conference-leading Revolution - until Taylor Twellman once again performed his stoppage-time heroics.
Needing every possible point to have any chance of qualifying for the postseason, the Crew finally broke through midway through the second half through rookie Knox Cameron. After Kyle Martino was fouled, Simon Elliott served the free kick to a towering Chad Marshall. The defender headed the ball down off the feet of Jay Heaps and Cameron was there to pound home the loose ball for his second goal in as many games and fourth on the season (66).
But once again, the Revolution grabbed a late result. Jay Heaps sent Pat Noonan down the right flank and his pinpoint cross from Twellman in the heart of the six, and he easily headed home for the leveller. It was the sixth goal scored in the 89th minute or later by New England - the third in stoppage time from Twellman alone - that has pulled the Revolution into a tie or given them the full spoils.
Crew coach Robert Warzycha made four changes to the team that lost 2-1 to the Chicago Fire the previous Saturday at home. Chris Wingert and Mario Rodriguez both came back into the team in midfield, for the injured Eric Vasquez and Chris Henderson. In addition, Edson Buddle and Knox Cameron formed a new-look strike partnership, coming in for John Wolyniec and Cornell Glen.
Here's Warzycha's team (3-4-1-2): Jonny Walker - Chad Marshall, Robin Fraser, Mark Schulte - Frankie Hejduk, Simon Elliott, Chris Wingert, Mario Rodriguez - Kyle Martino - Edson Buddle (Jamal Sutton 89), Knox Cameron (John Wolyniec 77).
"I think we played against the best team in Major League Soccer, and we played very well. We matched everything they had. We were very close to winning the game. [Taylor] Twellman scores a lot of goals at the end of the game, and we let him do that," Warzycha said.TEAM NEWS
Warzycha was most disappointed that the match will be remembered for Twellman's finish in the closing moments rather than how his squad played throughout the match.
"Nobody is going to remember this game, that we played good, that we played the first place team so good. Everyone is going to remember the last minute, they are going to remember the goal we gave up, and that is frustrating," he said.
Despite Twellman's late equalizer and shot off the woodwork in the 86th minute, the Crew demonstrated the ability to at least contain the Twellman-Pat Noonan-Clint Dempsey trio - something they hadn't even come close to in three previous attempts. The three combined for eight goals against the Crew in those first three matches.
Two players - Edson Buddle and Mario Rodriguez - made their first starts since July 9, the last match under the guidance of Greg Andrulis. One replacement was for Chris Henderson, who was suffering from a strained calf
"I didn't rest anybody, they are injured. I am putting the best players on the field every single time," Warzycha said. "If somebody is injured, and they are not 100 percent, then obviously they cannot be in the lineup. Chris (Henderson) was one of them."
Rodriguez had made just four brief substitute appearances for Warzycha (the longest lasting just 19 minutes) before starting and playing the entire match. "He (Rodriguez) did very well," Warzycha said. "He was very effective, especially in the beginning of the game. He did some good things, he almost had a goal. In the second half, he did exactly what I wanted him to do. He was good, overall."
After making an appearance as a substitute over the weekend, Edson Buddle made his first start since July 9 and nearly completed the match.
"He was dangerous even near the end of the game. He took the ball down the field to try to create something," said Warzycha. "He wasn't playing for a while and that might affect his play a little bit. The next game he is going to be even better."
For Cameron, it was his second match in a row with a goal. His first two goals in MLS came when he hit for a pair in a 2-0 win against Kansas City on July 23.
"He [Cameron] was in the right place at the right time and he scored a nice goal. He is one of our best forwards and that is what he needs to do when he steps on the field," Warzycha said.
