For Real Salt Lake, the devil was in the details on Friday night in Seattle. And because RSL couldn't take care of a few details, the Sounders walked away with a 3-2 victory and all three points.
"When you play against good teams like Seattle, they have big players. Details make the difference,” RSL playmaker Javier Morales told reporters. “Tonight, we made little mistakes and they cost us a lot – three points. Because I think we dominate. We play good soccer. We create chances. But, at the end, we got nothing. So that was the difference. Details tonight was the difference between them and us.”
For the fifth time this season, the Claret-and-Cobalt gave up a goal in the 88th minute or later that cost them points. RSL took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute on a goal by Morales, only to fall behind before halftime on Seattle goals by Lamar Neagle and Obafemi Martins.
Joao Plata tied it up five minutes into the second half and RSL had several opportunities to retake the lead – but found themselves a man down in the 68th minute when defender Nat Borchers was red-carded for fouling Martins on a breakaway just outside the 18.
Borchers admitted he “definitely got him,” and, in the process prevented a goalscoring opportunity. “It's a red card,” he told reporters, “but then I think to myself – [Sporting Kansas City's] Matt Besler does the same thing last week and doesn't even get a yellow card."
RSL head coach Jeff Cassar was unahappy not just with conceding Andy Rose's 94th-minute game-winner, but also with what he thought was an unwhistled foul by Sounders forward Clint Dempsey right in front of the goal just before the rebound got to Rose.
"You don’t get any of the ball and you take out our players, I think that’s a foul,” he told reporters.
And RSL were clearly disappointed that after fending off Seattle attacks for 25 minutes while a man down, they gave up the late game-winner.
“We couldn't get the ball for a long time in the last seven minutes, and then they score a goal,” Morales said. “And in those kinds of games, we have to try to keep the ball a little bit longer. Go to the corner with the ball. And when they are coming to the area, we have to clean up.”
"I think we were a minute short of getting out of here with a point,” RSL captain Kyle Beckerman told reporters. “That’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
