SANDY, Utah — For a striker, missing chances comes with the job. So when Real Salt Lake striker Fabian Espindola this past Saturday came away empty-handed on two chances when clean through on New England keeper Matt Reis, what else could he do but shrug it off?
HIGHLIGHTS: RSL 2, NE 1
“I had a couple of chances,” Espindola said. “But it’s alright. My bad. I missed them, but I was trying to keep working and do something for my team.”
“I’m trying to not get frustrated and just keep going,” he added.
The Argentine forward's form in the early part of the season has ensured he is a focal point of the RSL attack. And though he didn't convert his two chances, he made two vital contributions in the plays that led to RSL’s goals in their 2-1 comeback win.
He was part of the buildup on the right side that led to Alvaro Saborio’s first goal, and he drew the foul that led to the set piece that Saborio converted into the game winner.
“The game of soccer has missed chances, and a lot of them,” Kreis said. “That’s just the way it is."
Those missed chances, according to Kreis, can have nearly as much impact as a converted one.
"A lot of times, the missed chances and good attacking opportunities turn into momentum which is extremely important in the game," Kreis said. "I want us to just continue to be aggressive and continue to take our chances and if they go in, fantastic. And if they don’t, then we’ll hope that has built us some momentum that will pay dividends as the match wears on.”
For his part, Espindola isn't so concerned that he didn't finish, or for that matter, have a particularly strong game.
“At the end, you are going to be talking about who is taking the three points, no matter if you play well or not,” he said.
