One of my favorite moments from Real Salt Lake’s 2-1 win over Vancouver last night came about halfway through the second half, when RSL center back Kwame Watson-Siriboe flat out jumped over ‘Caps forward Darren Mattocks to win a header.
The athletic play caused quite the reaction in the press box, drawing more than a few oohs and aahs and causing a couple of members of the media to sit back in their chairs and straight up laugh.
Watson-Siriboe was his usual down-to-earth self when talking about the play after the game, somewhat downplaying the high-flying header.
“It was a 50-50 ball, Mattocks decided to go in and I just went 100 percent,” he said. “I had to go 100 percent because if I didn’t then there was a possibility of Mattocks hurting me, so as I went up I saw the ball and I just leaped.”
“I was very focused when I landed,” he added. “There was actually a play earlier in the game he elbowed me in the chest so it was kind of a payback where if he wants to go 50-50 and play hard yolu know we can do that
The play was a bit of a role-reversal for Mattocks, who nearly jumped over a Toronto FC defender to score an incredible goal at BMO Field on July 11. That fact wasn’t lost on Watson-Siriboe, who had a little laugh himself when asked if he’d seen the Vancouver attacker’s header against TFC.
“It’s the heat of the moment,” Watson-Siriboe said with a chuckle. “MLS is very athletic and one of my good traits is I guess I have good jumping ability.”
Clearly.
