Real Salt Lake 2 vs Sporting Kansas City 1
June 21, 2015; Rio Tinto Stadium
Records: Real Salt Lake (5-5-6, 21 points). Sporting Kansas City (6-3-6, 24 points)
Man of the Match: Javier Morales has been a force for RSL this season. The 35-year-old midfielder added to that legend on Sunday with assists on both Real Salt Lake goals to bring his season total to five. He is tied for fifth in MLS in assists and only one player – Fabian Espindola – with at least five has played fewer than the 825 minutes Morales has logged. He was a constant threat on set-pieces, but also controlled RSL’s flow through the run of play to keep the club dangerous throughout the match.
Telling Stat: 16. Real Salt Lake took 16 corner kicks on Sunday to set a new club record. The 10 attempted in the first half tied a club record for a half and while corners isn’t necessarily a direct indication of offensive success, it’s no coincidence that RSL had one of its best offensive performances of the season on the night. The previous highs for corner kicks this season was just seven in a scoreless draw with the LA Galaxy that saw Jaime Penedo make several stellar saves and six in a 2-0 win over NYCFC that had been the most complete team performance to that point.
What You Missed: “Crash” Mulholland … ‘nough said.
So What: It’s just one win and RSL needs to carry over the momentum through the week with matches on the road against the New York Red Bulls and at home against Columbus Crew SC, but the performance on Sunday leaves reason for great optimism. The concern going into the match was how the defense would hold off an MLS All-Star in Dom Dwyer without Jamison Olave, Chris Schuler or Elias Vasquez available. Add to that the absence of Alvaro Saborio and there was reason for concern, but RSL responded brilliantly against a hot club in Kansas City that was riding an eight-match unbeaten streak.
