Real Salt Lake 0 at FC Dallas 2
August 29, 2015; Toyota Stadium
Real Salt Lake (8-11-8, 32 points); FC Dallas (12-8-5, 41 points)
Man of the Match: Tony Beltran had one of his best defensive performances of the season, preventing Fabian Castillo from getting any good looks on goal in the first half with his haranguing defense and excellent recoveries. He did so much to limit the Colombian National Team call-up that Castillo switched sides in the second half.
Telling Stat: Javier Morales had converted nine straight penalties before his miss on Saturday. His last miss came in 2008 at Rice Eccles Stadium. Goals change games and miss in the 78th minute allowed Dallas to extend its lead moments later, so instead of a 1-1 scoreline with RSL building momentum, Dallas put the game away at 2-0.
What You Missed: Hordes of fans congregated at the Gallivan Center in downtown Salt Lake City to watch the match at the club’s official viewing party. Although the result didn’t give them much to celebrate, the congregation of so many fans in one spot was telling of the RSL fan base.
So What: Real Salt Lake has rarely gotten results in Dallas in the past and Saturday continued those struggles at 1-11-2 all-time on the road against FC Dallas. RSL hopes the Texas woes can be halted in the next match, a now-crucial match against the Houston Dynamo on Sept. 12, and can be encouraged by the fact that Salt Lake won 5-2 in its only visit to BBVA Compass Stadium last year.
