FRISCO, Texas – A shorthanded Real Salt Lake side (1-2-1, 4 points, T-5th West) fell 2-0 to FC Dallas (3-1-0, 9 points, 1st West) at FC Dallas Stadium on Saturday night.
FC Dallas scored twice in the final 20 minutes to down RSL, which was missing 11 players on Saturday due to injuries and international call-ups. The Claret-and-Cobalt’s comeback efforts were tempered in the 83rd minute, when MF Yordany Alvarez was shown his second yellow card and ejected from the game.
The match got off to a fast start, with both sides possessing the ball and getting forward well in the early minutes. RSL MF Luis Gil had the game’s first chance, running onto FW Joao Plata’s cross at the left post in the 13th minute and toe-poking an effort on goal that FC Dallas GK Chris Seitz saved nicely.
FCD should’ve gone ahead in the 15th minute. FW Fabian Castillo crossed to open MF David Ferreira six yards out at the near post, but the Colombian playmaker couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity, sending his right-footed volley wide of the mark.
Real Salt Lake DF Nat Borchers – making his first appearance of the season after missing the first three matches due to offseason quad surgery – saved a sure Dallas goal in the 22nd minute, clearing FCD FW Kenny Cooper’s shot off the line and out of danger following a Hoops counterattack.
RSL GK Josh Saunders – filling in for regular GK Nick Rimando, who missed the match while with the U.S. national team – made a big stop in the 26th minute, pawing away a deflected long ball at the top of the box while under heavy pressure from FCD MF Jackson.
Saunders came up big again in the 57th and 66th minutes. The former L.A. GK stoned Jackson on the first chance, parrying away his hard shot from 15 yards in the 55th before blocking a hard Castillo shot in the 66th minute.
Castillo put RSL behind in the 71st minute. The Young Designated Player collected a fabulous Jackson long ball on the left wing, racing into the box before rifling a 10 yard shot into the roof of the net at the near post to put RSL down 1-0.
RSL pressed hard for an equalizer following Castillo’s goal, nearly finding one on two separate occasions. The first chance came in the 77th minute. MF Ned Grabavoy chipped FW Robbie Findley behind the Dallas defense and into the left side of the box, allowing Findley to put a left-footed shot on net that Dallas GK Chris Seitz parried away. Claret-and-Cobalt FW Devon Sandoval pounced on the rebound, side-footing a shot that looked destined for goal before FCD DF Matt Hedges miraculously cleared it off the line.
RSL Offseason signing FW Olmes Garcia put one off the post in the 78th. The MLS debutant got on the end of a Grabavoy corner kick in the left side of the box, hitting a diving header off the near post. The touch was the first of Garcia’s MLS career.
Dallas doubled its advantage in the 81st. Jackson jumped Saunders after RSL DF Lovel Palmer played the veteran ‘keeper a back pass, stripping him inside the area and tapping the ball home.
RSL’s comeback hopes were effectively dashed in the 83rd minute, when Alvarez was shown a second yellow card and ejected.
The Claret-and-Cobalt will return to Utah on Sunday, resuming training early next week before taking on Seattle Sounders FC at Rio Tinto Stadium on March 30.
Real Salt Lake Match Notes – RSL 0-2 DAL
- RSL was without 11 players on Saturday due to international duty and injuries.
- The Claret-and-Cobalt was without internationals captain Kyle Beckerman (U.S.), DF Tony Beltran (U.S.), DF Abdoulie Mansally (Gambia), GK Nick Rimando (U.S.) and FW Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica).
- RSL was without injured players MF Javier Morales (R Knee Meniscectomy), DF Chris Wingert (R Fractured Metatarsal), MF Sebastian Velasquez (Illness), DF Carlos Salcedo (Concussion), MF David Viana (R Quad Strain) and DF Rich Balchan (L Abdominal Non-Descript Muscle Injury).
- Saturday’s result moved RSL to 0-19-3 all-time in the state of Texas and 0-11-2 across all competitions at FC Dallas.
- GK Josh Saunders, MF Cole Grossman and FW Olmes Garcia all made their RSL debuts on Saturday night. Saunders went the full 90 minutes; Grossman started and came out in the 77th minute for Garcia, who – in addition to making his RSL debut – made his MLS debut on Saturday night.
- All five RSL players currently on international duty will be available for the team’s March 30 match against Seattle. Mansally will re-join the team early this week while Beckerman, Beltran, Rimando and Saborio will return to the Claret-and-Cobalt following their respective national teams’ Tuesday World Cup qualifiers.
REAL SALT LAKE 0–2 FC DALLAS
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013
FC DALLAS STADIUM
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 0 0
FC Dallas 0 2 0
Scoring Summary:
DAL – Fabian Castillo (Jackson) – 71’
DAL – Jackson – 80’
Misconduct Summary:
RSL – Yordany Alvarez (Foul) – 37’
RSL – Yordany Alvarez (Embellishment; Ejected) – 83’
RSL – Ned Grabavoy (Foul) – 90+’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-1-2-1-2) – Josh Saunders; Lovel Palmer, Nat Borchers (C), Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Chris Schuler; Yordany Alvarez; Cole Grossman (Olmes Garcia, 77’), Ned Grabavoy; Luis Gil (John Stertzer, 66’); Robbie Findley, Joao Plata (Devon Sandoval, 73’)
Substitutes Not Used: Jeff Attinella (GK), Aaron Maund, Enzo Martinez, Khari Stephenson
FC Dallas (4-4-2) – Chris Seitz; Jair Benitez (London Woodberry, 89’), George John, Matt Hedges, Zach Loyd; Michel, Jackson, Andrew Jacobson, David Ferreira; Fabian Castillo (Eric Hassli, 71’), Kenny Cooper (Bobby Warshaw, 84’)
Substitutes Not Used: Richard Sanchez (GK), Bradlee Baladez, Victor Ulloa, Jonathan Top
Referee: Juan Guzman
Referee's Assistants: Ian Anderson, Matthew Nelson
4th Official: Ted Unkel
Attendance: 11,181
