SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake (8-4-9, 33 points, West #2), drew its final match of its three-game homestand on Wednesday, tying Eastern Conference foe New York Red Bulls (5-6-10, 25 points, East #6) 1-1 in front of a sold-out crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium.
FW Joao Plata scored Real Salt Lake’s goal, coolly finishing a shot from 15 yards out to the far corner in the 18th minute to put RSL up 1-0. New York FW Thierry Henry equalized in the second half, placing a perfectly struck shot into the side netting from the top of the 18 yard box in the 57th minute. Real Salt Lake had a handful of chances to retake the lead in the final 10 minutes of the game but it was unable to find the back of the net.
After a relatively quiet opening fifteen minutes of the match, Real Salt Lake went on to take the lead in the 18th minute through Plata. The play started with RSL MF Javier Morales collecting the ball on the right flank. The Argentine worked his way through gridlock at the top of the 18 yard box and got a shot off that forced NY GK Luis Robles to make a diving kick-save. The strike deflected off of Robles’ feet and found its way to RSL DF Chris Wingert inside the area on the left side and the defender laid it off to Plata. The Ecuadorian worked the ball onto his right foot and slotted a beautiful shot through traffic to the far post for his ninth goal of the season.
Real Salt Lake had a fantastic chance to double its lead in the 32nd minute. Morales found RSL MF Luke Mulholland open on the right flank and the Englishman played a fantastic cross into the area. Beckerman made the run into the six yard box but was unable to get to the ball, just narrowly missing the open header.
New York had a golden opportunity to equalize in the 36th minute. New York MF Ambroise Oyongo was able to beat RSL DF Tony Beltran into the area on the left side forcing Rimando to come off his line and attempt to wrangle the ball out from under the Cameroonian. Rimando did not get a firm touch on the ball however as it bounced back to the feet of Oyongo in front of an open net, but his shot from 10 yards out went wide of the near post.
Real Salt Lake controlled much of the start of the second half but New York was able to find the equalizer in the 57th minute. The play started with New York FW Bradley Wright-Phillips making his way to the touch line on the left side and whipping a cross into the box that found MF Tim Cahill at the penalty spot. The Australian international opted not shoot and laid the ball off for and open Henry at the top of the 18 yard box. The Frenchman showed why he is one of the best and hit a perfectly placed shot into the right corner to beat Rimando.
The Claret-and-Cobalt almost struck back in the 71st minute. The play came off an RSL corner taken by Plata who found RSL DF Chris Schuler open at the top of the six yard box. Schuler’s header seemed ticketed for the back of the net but Robles came up big, making a diving save to keep the score even.
Real Salt Lake had a pair of opportunities to retake the lead in the 86th and 93rd minutes. In the first, RSL played a lovely low ball into the box that RSL FW Robbie Findley was unable to get a full foot on and his attempt went wide of the net. Findley had the second chance as well, getting on the end of a Wingert cross but his header went straight to Robles for the final play of the night.
Real Salt Lake will return to MLS action on Saturday, when it heads out on the road to take on the Colorado Rapids in a quest to win the Rocky Mountain Cup at 7:00 p.m. MT. Saturday’s match will be broadcast on ABC 4, ESPN 700 and 102.3 La Gran D FM.
Real Salt Lake Match Notes – RSL 1–1 NY
- Wednesday’s attendance of 20,295 marked Real Salt Lake’s ninth sell-out of the 2014 season and seventh-straight. RSL was at capacity for the March 22 season opening 1-1 draw against LA, the April 19 1-0 win against Portland, the May 17 2-1 victory over Colorado, the May 24 scoreless draw with FC Dallas, the 3-1 loss to Portland on June 7, the 2-1 win over New England on July 4, the 1-1 draw with Vancouver on July 19 and the 3-1 win over Montreal Impact on July 24. Tonight’s sell-out marks the club’s 38th sell-out across all competitions since Rio Tinto Stadium’s 2008 opening.
- Tonight’s match was the only 2014 regular season meeting between the two clubs. RSL now posts a 5-4-8 regular season record against New York all-time.
- RSL continues to be undefeated against NY at home in the regular season, suffering its first draw against the Red Bulls in Utah. The Claret-and-Cobalt now posts a 4-0-5 record in the Beehive State v. NY.
- With tonight’s draw, Real Salt Lake ended its four-game win streak at home against the Red Bulls, all of which had been shutouts. Prior to Henry’ equalizing goal tonight, the last time New York scored in Utah during the regular season was on Oct. 9, 2008, a 1-1 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium.
- RSL FW Joao Plata notched his ninth goal of the season to put the Claret-and-Cobalt up 1-0 in the 18th minute. Plata is RSL’s leading scorer this year, now three goals ahead of currently injured FW Alvaro Saborio.
- RSL DF Chris Wingert earned the assist on Plata’s opening goal for his second helper of the season.
- RSL’s concession of the equalizing goal prevented RSL GK Nick Rimando from tying the MLS all-time shutout record. Retired GK Kevin Hartman solely retains the record with 112 clean sheets.
- Real Salt Lake now posts a 5-1-5 record at home this year. RSL boasts an 81-17-28 mark in its last 126 home games dating back to the beginning of 2008, the first full season under GM Garth Lagerwey.
- Tonight marks former RSL DF Jamison Olave’s first match at Rio Tinto Stadium since being traded to NY at the end of 2012. The Colombian spent five years with the Claret-and-Cobalt, including winning 2009 MLS Cup with the club.
- Tonight marked the fifth consecutive match with Real Salt Lake Captain Kyle Beckerman and veteran GK Nick Rimando in the starting lineup. Beckerman and Rimando returned to the club from Brazil on July 3 and went on to help lead the Claret-and-Cobalt to a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution the next day to snap the club’s five game winless streak in MLS action. The Claret-and-Cobalt are now 3-1-2 since the return of the international duo. RSL went 1-3-2 in their absence in addition to being knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup after falling 2-1 at lower-division Atlanta Silverbacks in its opening match of the tournament.
REAL SALT LAKE 1–1 NEW YORK RED BULLS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2014
RIO TINTO STADIUM
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 0 1
New York Red Bulls 0 1 1
Scoring Summary:
RSL – Joao Plata (Chris Wingert) – 18’
NY – Thierry Henry (Tim Cahill, Bradley Wright-Phillips) – 57’
Misconduct Summary:
RSL – Olmes Garcia (Yellow; Time Wasting) – 79’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-1-2-1-2): Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Chris Schuler, Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert; Kyle Beckerman (C), Luke Mulholland (Luis Gil, 67’), Ned Grabavoy, Javier Morales, Olmes Garcia (Robbie Findley, 82’), Joao Plata
Substitutes not used: Jeff Attinella; Carlos Salcedo, Cole Grossman, John Stertzer, Devon Sandoval,
New York Red Bulls (4-4-2): Luis Robles; Chris Duvall, Jamison Olave, Ibrahim Sekagya, Roy Miller; Eric Alexander (Ruben Bover, 79’), Tim Cahill, Dax McCarty, Ambroise Oyongo; Bradley Wright-Phillips, Thierry Henry (Peguy Luyindula, 90’)
Substitutes not used: Ryan Meara; Andre Akpan, Michael Bustamante, Kosuke Kimura, Matt Miazga
Referee: Mark Geiger
Assistant Referees: C.J. Morgante, Felisha Mariscal
4th Official: Tyler Ploeger
Attendance: 20,295
Weather: Clear and 80 degrees
