Real Salt Lake Come up Short at Atlanta United

SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, July 13, 2022) – Real Salt Lake (8-6-6, 30 points) dropped a 2-1 result in its first midweek match of this season at Atlanta United FC. Defender Johan Kappelhof netted his first goal for both Real Salt Lake and Major League Soccer, but it was not enough to overcome the first-half brace from Atlanta’s Ronaldo Cisneros. 

In the team’s first midweek match of the season, Real Salt Lake suffered an early deficit under the Atlanta United dome, with Cisneros spinning around Erik Holt at the top of the 18-yard-box to take the 1-0 lead. The Claret-and-Cobalt looked to respond quickly, but Justin Meram’s shot was blocked.

Atlanta doubled its lead in the 33rd minute when Cisneros found his second of the match, once again hitting a long ball through two defenders to give his team the 2-0 lead. But five minutes later, some shifty footwork and a pin-point cross from Meram saw Kappelhof pull one back to cut the deficit in half. In the final 10 minutes of the first half RSL was able to withstand Atlanta’s continued waves of pressure, heading into the halftime break 2-1 in favor of the home side. 

Throughout the second half Real Salt Lake continued to seek the equalizer, and in the 69th minute it seemed as if the team may have found it when Sergio Cordova buried a shot past the goalkeeper, but he was determined to be in an offside position and the goal was called back. Atlanta nearly scored its third of the match, but a sliding clearance from Aaron Herrera kept Real Salt Lake’s hope alive. Despite the Claret-and-Cobalt’s best efforts, the team was unable to find the back of the net for the equalizing goal and the match ended with Atlanta United taking the 2-1 victory. 

UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake returns to Rio Tinto Stadium to host its long-time rival Sporting Kansas City in Sunday, July 17 at 7:30 p.m. MT. 

GOAL SCORING SUMMARY:

ATL: Ronaldo Cisneros (Thiago Almada) 7th minute: Almada sent a long ball through two defenders to an oncoming Cisneros who spun around Erik Holt to take a left-footed shot into the lower left corner of goal. 

ATL: Ronaldo Cisneros (Matheus Rossetto) 33rd minute: Rossetto intercepted a pass, finding Cisneros who hit a stinger through his defender’s legs, tucking into the bottom right corner. 

RSL: Johan Kappelhof (Justin Meram) 37th minute: Cutting around his defender, Meram hit a long ball into the 18 yard box where Kappelhof was able to redirect a push-header through the hands of Atlanta’s goalkeeper. 

NOTES: 

• Zack Farnsworth (right ankle), Bobby Wood (abductor), Justen Glad (hamstring), Jefferson Savarino (hip Flexor), Scott Caldwell (health and safety protocols) Anderson Julio (quadriceps) and Damir Kreilach (back) were unavailable due to injury.
• Midfielder Justin Meram captained Real Salt Lake for the first time, while also providing his 48th career assist, putting him just two away from becoming the 24th player in league history to record the 50 goals and 50 assists. 
• Midfielder Diego Luna earned his first start for Real Salt Lake and his first in Major League Soccer. 
• Defender Johan Kappelhof netted his first goal for both Real Salt Lake and Major League Soccer. 

Match: Real Salt Lake vs Atlanta United FC

Date: July 9, 2022

Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United 

Weather: Overcast and 85

Attendance: 42,509

Scoring Summary:      1     2      F 

Real Salt Lake         1    0     1

Atlanta United         2    0     2

ATL: Ronaldo Cisneros (Thiago Almada) 7’
ATL: Ronaldo Cisneros (Matheus Rossetto) 33’
RSL: Johan Kappelhof (Justin Meram) 37’ 

Lineups:

Real Salt Lake (3-5-2): Zac MacMath; Aaron Herrera, Erik Holt, Johan Kappelhof; Andrew Brody (Chris Kablan 68’), Nick Besler, Diego Luna (Sergio Cordova 46’), Pablo Ruiz (Jasper Löffelsend 46’), Tate Schmitt (Maikel Chang 63’); Rubio Rubin, Justin Meram (Bode Hidalgo 68’)

Subs not used: Tomas Gomez, Marcelo Silva 

Atlanta United FC (3-5-2): Rocco Rios-Navo; Alan Franco, Juan Sanchez Purata, Caleb Wiley, George Campbell; Thiago Almada (Franco Ibarra 71’), Matheus Rossetto, Amar Sejidic (Santiago Sosa 82’), Aiden McFadden (Machop Chol 57’); Marcelino Moreno, Ronaldo Cisernos (Josef Martinez 77’)

Subs not used: Alex De John, Dom Dwyer, Raul Gudino, Mikey Ambrose

Stats Summary: RSL / ATL

Shots: 10 / 14

Shots on Goal: 7 / 7

Saves: 5 / 3

Corner Kicks: 4 / 5

Fouls: 7 / 11

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL: Erik Holt (caution) 44’
RSL: Nick Besler (caution) 56’
ATL: Marcelino Moreno (caution) 90+3’

OFFICIALS:

Referee: Drew Fischer

Assistant Referees: Corey Rockwell, Justin Howard

4th Official: Ted Unkel

VAR: Ismail Elfath