REAL SALT LAKE ROLLS OVER PUNTARENAS F.C. 2-0 IN FRIENDLY
Goals
from MF Javier Morales and FW Pablo Campos More than Enough to Overpower
Visitors from Costa Rica;
RSL
Returns to League Play, Tries to Extend 20-Match Overall Home Undefeated Streak
Next Friday, June 25 against San Jose Earthquakes
SANDY, Utah (Saturday, June 19, 2010) – Real Salt Lake dominated Costa Rican side Puntarenas F.C. from start to finish in their international club friendly this evening, as the Utah hosts used goals from MF Javier Morales and FW Pablo Campos to post a 2-0 victory at Rio Tinto Stadium. Counting MLS regular season, MLS Cup Playoff, and international friendly action, Real Salt Lake (7-3-2, 23 pts. in MLS play) bumped its 13-month home undefeated streak up to 20 contests with the win (14-0-6), a run the defending MLS Cup champs will look to continue next Friday, June 25, when they welcome the San Jose Earthquakes (5-4-2, 17 pts.) to Sandy for a 7:00 p.m. MT kick (live on KUSG 2.2).
One needs to see little more evidence than
Real Salt Lake’s 22-1 advantage in shots to tell how the match progressed, as
the Utahns enjoyed an overwhelming majority of the possession and continually
pressed into the attacking third on a youthful Puntarenas side currently
progressing through its preseason. However, it took until just before halftime
for the home side to get on the board, a problem Morales remedied in the 41st
minute with a beautiful 35-yard free kick that swerved into the upper right 90
and past a fully-extended GK Brayan
Zamora. The goal was the Argentine playmaker’s second game-winner for RSL
against international competition, as he also bagged the lone goal in a 1-0 win
over Mexican power Club America last June.
Despite seven changes to the RSL eleven to
begin the second half, it was more of the same for the Claret-and-Cobalt, who
took 14 of their 22 shots on the evening after the halftime break. It was
Campos doubling the Real Salt Lake lead in the 55th minute when the
Brazilian looked to do his best Landon Donovan imitation, mimicking the USA
captain’s goal against Slovenia yesterday by roofing a near-angle shot from
eight yards out, stunning PFC ‘keeper Olger
Ruiz by nailing the shot right over his head. RSL’s own Costa Rican native,
FW Álvaro Saborio, created more than
enough chances to score against the squad from his home country, but his team-high
six shots – all coming in the second 45 minutes – would go for naught, thanks
in part to some stellar saves from Ruiz.
For more on tonight's contest, click here for the MLSsoccer.com recap of the friendly in Sandy.
RSL
HEAD COACH JASON KREIS QUOTE SHEET
On what RSL can take out of tonight’s match:
“We got to have a match experience in our
stadium, which we needed. We’ve had big breaks [in our schedule] in the past
and have struggled when we’ve come back from them, so in one sense we got the
guys out there on the field with referees in a match experience and had a good
run out in front of the crowd.”
On the team’s goals for the friendly:
“Our biggest goal was to get the guys
prepared for next weekend (against San Jose). There were some other separate
goals – getting guys like Jean Alexandre extended minutes; Chris Schuler,
getting him some of his first minutes with the first team at center back, and
Luis Gil got a little bit of a run. There were separate things we were looking
for from the younger players and I thought everyone performed well.”
On getting DF Chris Wingert back from a
hamstring strain:
“We were thinking all along that we would
like to push him to see how long he could go. It wasn’t his hamstring that made
us sub him, but he was starting to cramp a little bit so I chose to be
preventative with that before we had any other injury concerns.”
REAL
SALT LAKE v. PUNTARENAS F.C. (CRC)
INTERNATIONAL
CLUB FRIENDLY
SATURDAY,
JUNE 19, 2010
RIO
TINTO STADIUM – SANDY, UTAH
Goals
by Period12F
Real Salt Lake112
Puntarenas F.C.000
Scoring Summary:
RSL – Javier Morales (unassisted) 41
RSL – Pablo Campos (Ned Grabavoy) 55
Misconduct Summary:
PUN – Oscar Duarte (caution; Tactical Foul)
40
RSL – Jean Alexandre (caution; Verbal
Distraction) 54
RSL – Ned Grabavoy (caution; Tactical Foul)
73
Real Salt Lake (4-4-2) – GK-Nick
Rimando (Kyle Reynish 45); DF-Robbie Russell (Tony Beltran 45), DF-Jamison
Olave (Nat Borchers 45), DF-Rauwshan McKenzie (Chris Schuler 45), DF-Chris
Wingert (Capt.) (Rauwshan McKenzie 78); MF-Collen Warner (Will Johnson 45),
MF-Jean Alexandre (Luis Gil 66), MF-Javier Morales (Andy Williams 45), MF-Ned
Grabavoy; FW-Fabian Espíndola (Álvaro Saborío 45), FW-Pablo Campos
Substitutes Not Used: None
Statistics: SHOTS: 22 (Saborío 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 13 (Campos, Saborío 3); SAVES: 0; FOULS: 14 (Alexandre 4); CORNERS: 6 (Morales, Williams 3); OFFSIDES: 1 (Campos 1)
Puntarenas F.C. (3-4-3) – GK-Brayan
Zamora (Olger Ruiz 45); DF-Rafael Nunez (Capt.), DF-Oscar Duarte, DF-Sherman
Vazquez; MF-Daniel Peña (Luis Avila 80), MF-Diego Gallo (Anthony Caruzo 66),
MF-Carlos Castro (Ellioth Ferrier 56), MF-Gabriel Masner (Jaison Peña 56);
FW-Ariel Santana (Emanuel Campos 63), FW-Josua Diaz (Ricardo Garcia 56),
FW-Pedro Leal
Substitutes Not Used: None
Statistics: SHOTS: 1 (Leal 1); SHOTS ON GOAL: 0; SAVES: 10 (Ruiz 6); FOULS: 8 (3 players with 2); CORNERS: 2 (Masner 2); OFFSIDES: 3 (3 players with 1)
Referee: Anthony
Russo
Referee's Assistants: Alex
Krelo, Brad Jensen
4th Official:
Brandylyn Griffiths-Pack
Time of Game:
1:47
Weather:
Clear-and-83-degrees
Attendance:
9,420
