Sandy, Utah (Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017) – Real Salt Lake (7-12-5, 26 pts) extended its unbeaten streak to five straight matches with a 0-0 draw with the Houston Dynamo in front of 19,075 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday.
An uneventful first half saw chances for both sides come few and far between. GK Nick Rimando was called upon after 30 minutes when he batted away a strong effort from Houston midfielder Alex. The best chance of the half for RSL fell to FW Joao Plata after a good one-two with FW Luis Silva at the top of the area, but Plata’s shot flew just wide.
The first 20 minutes of the second half were much like the first half until Alex received two yellow cards in quick succession to bring the Dynamo to 10 men.
As RSL pushed for a game-winner, Head Coach Mike Petke elected to bring on MF Brooks Lennon, MF Sebastian Saucedo and FW Yura Movsisyan in the second half in search of a spark. RSL’s defense stood firm in the closing minutes of the game to keep the shutout, the team’s sixth of the year.
UP NEXT: RSL will hit the road for the first of two games in a row against Eastern Conference opposition, taking on D.C. United on August 12 (5:00 pm MT kickoff) at RFK Stadium. In 2016 RSL and D.C. United played to a 1-1 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium on July 1 with Juan Manuel Martinez scoring the lone goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS:
RSL – Nick Rimando, 31st minute: A strong blast from 20 yards by Dynamo midfielder Alex forced Rimando into the save. The shot, dipping and swerving forced the RSL goalkeeper to parry the effort away for a corner kick.
NOTES:
- Head Coach Mike Petke made his return to the bench in charge of RSL after serving his one-game suspension against Columbus Crew SC.
- The game against Houston was the first game that RSL has played that involved Video Replay. August 5 was the first day Major League Soccer has involved Video Replay on a full-time basis. The Video Assistant Referee was utilized without full review to issue a yellow card to Houston’s Alberth Elis in the 81st minute.
- RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando earned his 134th career shutout, adding to his illustrious all-time record total.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs Houston Dynamo
Date: August 5, 2017
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 19,075
Weather: Clear and 91 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 0 0
Houston Dynamo 0 0 0
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake: (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Marcelo Silva, Justen Glad, Chris Wingert (Sebastian Saucedo, 87’); Sunny (Brooks Lennon, 64’), Kyle Beckerman; Jefferson Savarino (Yura Movsisyan, 78’), Albert Rusnák, Joao Plata; Luis Silva
Subs not used: Lalo Fernandez, David Horst, Danilo Acosta, Luke Mulholland
Houston Dynamo: (4-3-3): Tyler Deric; A.J. DeLaGarza, Adolfo Machado, Leonardo, Dylan Remick; Ricardo Clark, Juan Cabezas, Alex; Andrew Wenger (Boniek Garcia, 78’), Mauro Manotas (Erick Torres, 68’), Memo Rodriguez (Alberth Elis, 56’)
Subs not used: Joe Willis, Jalil Anibaba, Kevin Garcia, Romell Quioto
Stats Summary: RSL/HOU
Shots: 21 / 9
Shots on Goal: 0 / 1
Saves: 1 / 0
Corner Kicks: 5 / 5
Fouls: 15 / 11
Offside: 1 / 3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL – Justen Glad (caution) 60’
HOU – Alex (caution) 64’
HOU – Alex (second caution/ejection) 65’
RSL – Kyle Beckerman (caution) 71’
HOU – Alberth Elis (caution) 81’
HOU – A.J. DeLaGarza (caution) 90’+4
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Robert Sibiga
Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt, Ian Anderson
4th Official: Alejandro Mariscal
VAR: Timothy Ford
