VANCOUVER, Canada (Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012) – Real Salt Lake (13-9-3, 42 points, West #2) dropped its fifth consecutive road match across all competitions on Saturday, conceding twice in the second half to fall 2-1 at Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Real Salt Lake DF Nat Borchers headed home FW Paulo Jr.'s cross in the waning moments to pull a goal back, snapping the club’s road scoring drought at 360 minutes in MLS play and 450 minutes over all competitions.
Both teams started the match relatively well, trading a chances in the opening 25 minutes. Vancouver had the first opportunity, nearly going ahead in the 13th minute when FW Camilo forced RSL GK Nick Rimando into a difficult save with a blistering shot from 30 yards.
RSL hit back with a chance of its own in the 25th minute. FW Álvaro Saborío – who scored both RSL goals in the team’s 2-1 win over Vancouver at Rio Tinto Stadium on July 27 – got on the end of MF Javier Morales’ cross at the left post, flicking a fabulous header past Vancouver GK Brad Knighton and DF Jay DeMerit only for the ball to bang harmlessly off the post.
DeMerit and Knighton collided violently on the play. DeMerit took the brunt of it, staying down for a couple of minutes and - despite gamely attempting to keep playing - going off in the 31st minute. The Vancouver captain was replaced by MLS debutant DF Andy O’Brien.
Camilo had another chance in first-half stoppage time, nearly putting Vancouver on the board just before the break. The Brazilian attacker got on the end of MF Barry Robson’s cross at the PK spot, rising above a multitude of other players and snapping a solid header toward goal to force Rimando into a fine diving save.
That chance took the sides into halftime. RSL made a precautionary change at the break, taking out Morales due to slight adductor tightness and replacing him with MF Luis Gil.
Vancouver took advantage of a fortunate bounce to take a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute. Camilo got the goal, running onto RSL MF Will Johnson’s deflected clearance in the left side of the box before finishing from a tight angle.
FW Dane Richards doubled Whitecaps FC’s advantage just six minutes later. The Jamaican international collected a pass from FW Darren Mattocks just right of center, taking advantage of ample time on the ball to curl a 25-yard right-footer inside the near post.
The Claret-and-Cobalt had a decent chance in the 66th minute. Saborío had the look, driving a low shot toward the far post from the top right corner of the 18 that Knighton bobbled before eventually collecting.
RSL’s urgency escalated as the second half wore on, the insertion of FW Paulo Jr. bringing energy to the pitch. The fleet-footed Brazilian – returning to the RSL gameday 18 after a few weeks on a short-term loan with the minor-league Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, where he scored a goal and added an assist in two games – tracked down a ball in the corner in second half stoppage time, sending a cross to the far post for Borchers to flick home and cut the deficit to 2-1.
Unfortunately for RSL, Borchers' goal was too little too late, as the Claret-and-Cobalt dropped its third-straight match across all competitions. Real Salt Lake returns to action next Saturday, when they'll host FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Click here to access video highlights and the MLSsoccer.com MATCHCENTER for RSL-VAN
Real Salt Lake Match Notes – VAN 2 : 1 RSL
- Tonight’s loss drops RSL to 4-6-1 in its 11 MLS games since the early June FIFA break in MLS play, including a 1-4-0 mark away from home, the only road win coming in the 3-0 victory at Chivas USA on June 16. Incidentally, the Borchers goal during tonight’s stoppage time was the first since Will Johnson scored at The Home Depot Center to close out that win, RSL being outscored 11-2 on the road in that span.
- For the second consecutive week, RSL failed to secure three points that would have allowed the club to leap-frog over current MLS Supporters Shield and Western Conference incumbent San Jose Earthquakes, which hold a two-point lead – and a game in hand – over RSL, pending tonight’s result at home against Seattle Sounders FC. With tonight’s Vancouver win over RSL, the second-year Whitecaps FC move into a third-place tie with Seattle in the West race at 37 points.
- The setback at Vancouver drops RSL to 4-6-2 on the road this year, stuck on 14 points – one win and five points shy of matching the club’s all-time high, set last year with a 5-8-4 (19 points) cumulative road performance.
- Next Saturday, RSL hosts visiting FC Dallas (5-11-9, 24 points, West #8) at Rio Tinto Stadium, the West foe traveling to Salt Lake on the heels of tonight’s home match against Colorado and a Wednesday visit to Vancouver.
- Just 72 hours after RSL hosts Dallas, matchday #2 in the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League arrives to Sandy, as the Claret-and-Cobalt will host Panamanian champion Tauro FC at Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL trails Group 2 leader C.S. Herediano (Costa Rica) by virtue of the club’s 0-1 road loss on July 31.
- A very limited number of tickets remain for both August home matches for RSL, and can be purchased online at www.RealSaltLake.com or by calling 801.727.2700 Mon-Sat during business hours 10a-6p. Fans can also purchase tickets at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office or the RSL Team Store (10a-5p) on the northeast corner of the Stadium.
- Two of RSL’s regular starters – FW Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica) and MF Will Johnson (Canada) – depart directly from Vancouver on Sunday to join their respective national teams for FIFA friendlies on Wednesday, Costa Rica hosting Peru in San Jose’s National Stadium and Canada facing Trinidad & Tobago in Florida.
- The United States National Team travels to Mexico City’s famed Azteca Stadium to face regional arch-rival Mexico, with RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman and GK Nick Rimando hoping to have their names announced by USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann when he unveils the USA selectionSunday at 2:00 p.m. MT.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC 2 : 1 REAL SALT LAKE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012
BC PLACE
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 1 1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0 2 2
Scoring Summary: VAN – Camilo – 58’
VAN – Dane Richards (Darren Mattocks, Camilo) – 64’
RSL – Nat Borchers (Paulo Jr) - 93+
Misconduct Summary: RSL – Tony Beltran (Foul) – 37’
VAN – Alain Rochat (Foul) – 41'
VAN – Gershon Koffie (Foul) – 49’
VAN - Jun Marques Davidson (Foul) - 83'
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-1-2-1-2) – Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert; Kyle Beckerman (C); Ned Grabavoy, Will Johnson (Jonny Steele, 75’); Javier Morales (Luis Gil, 46'); Alvaro Saborio, Fabian Espindola (Paulo Jr., 67’)
Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Reynish (GK), Justin Braun, Kenny Mansally, Yordany Alvarez
Vancouver Whitecaps (4-3-3) – Brad Knighton (GK); Lee Young-Pyo, Martin Bonjour, Jay DeMerit (C) (Andy O’Brien, 31’), Alain Rochat; Gershon Koffie, Barry Robson, Jun Marques Davidson; Camilo (Russell Teibert, 87'), Darren Mattocks (Kenny Miller, 71’), Dane Richards
Substitutes Not Used: Brian Sylvestre (GK), Atiba Harris, Jordan Harvey, John Thorrington
Referee: Paul Ward
Referee's Assistants: Kevin Duliba, Jeremy Hanson
4th Official: Drew Fischer
Attendance: 20,083
Weather: Sunny and 75 degrees
www.RealSaltLake.com/www.RioTintoStadium.com/www.ESPN700Sports.com
