Real Salt Lake 0 at FC Dallas 2
June 25, 2016; Frisco, Texas; Toyota Stadium
Real Salt Lake (8-5-3, 27 points); FC Dallas (9-5-4, 31 points)
Man of the Match: On a night with limited highs for Real Salt Lake, Omar Holness’ MLS debut was the brightest spot. Holness, the fifth overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, suffered a seizure in his professional debut with Real Monarchs back on March 26 and a separated shoulder put his rookie season into question. However, he recovered quickly and was cleared to play and has since put in work in five more appearances with the Monarchs in addition to a spot off the bench for RSL in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. He put in a solid defensive performance in the midfield and left the coaching staff and his teammates proud of the comeback trail he journeyed and optimistic of what he will continue to contribute to the club moving forward.
Telling Stat: Real Salt Lake has always found it difficult to earn a result on the road against FC Dallas. Saturday’s loss drops RSL to 1-14-2 in the Metroplex across all competitions, the lone win coming in a 3-0 victory in July of 2013.
What You Missed: RSL had eight players in the lineup who had appeared for the Monarchs this season. Phanuel Kavita (684 minutes), Boyd Okwuonu (682 minutes) and Holness (402 minutes) had seen the most action with the USL club, while Devon Sandoval (270 minutes) and Olmes Garcia (260 minutes) had also seen extended time. Jeff Attinella, Luke Mulholland and John Stertzer each had just one appearance for the Monarchs in the season opener on March 26.
So What: The match was RSL’s fourth out of six in an 18-day stretch, so naturally there would be some squad rotation involved. Luke Mulholland was the only starter on Saturday who also started in Wednesday night’s comeback win over the New York Red Bulls, so Head Coach Jeff Cassar used the depth of his squad to get through what was always going to be a difficult matchup. Getting young players experience was important in this one and they generally showed well and while the result against a Western Conference opponent is not ideal, the grand scheme of the six-game stretch will tell the true tale of the success or failure of the lineup selection within that stretch.
