SANDY, Utah (Saturday, March 30, 2019) – Real Salt Lake (1-3-1, 4 points) fell 4-2 on Saturday night to Western Conference foe FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium. The loss marks the first home loss of the season for Head Coach Mike Petke and RSL.
RSL got goals from FW Jefferson Savarino and DF Marcelo Silva, but an early goal conceded, injury and red card left a hill to steep to climb for the comeback effort.
From the outset RSL was put under pressure, going behind after just one minute when Carlos Gruezo smashed a ball from inside the box past GK Nick Rimando for the early lead. RSL was forced into shuffling its starting group early as DF Erik Holt left the match in the 11th minute after suffering an apparent ankle injury just outside his penalty area. The hosts again fell under adversity in the first half when MF Damir Kreilach was shown a red card in the 16th minute after an altercation near midfield, forcing RSL to play a man down the rest of the match.
RSL leveled the match against the run of play in the 31st minute when Savarino struck from distance with a curling effort. However, just one minute later FC Dallas regained the lead through Paxton Pomykal when he jumped on a loose clearance inside the box before slotting past Rimando.
A flurry of goals within 20 minutes of the start of the second half saw both RSL and FC Dallas on their heels. For FC Dallas, Pomykal notched his second of the evening when his deflected shot flew past Rimando for the 3-1 lead. Just two minutes later, Silva scored his first goal for RSL when his headed effort from an MF Albert Rusnák corner kick cut the lead in half. However, in the 69th minute FC Dallas regained its two-goal advantage when Jesus Ferreira slid home at the near post to bring the score to 4-2. As RSL continued to press to draw itself level at home, it couldn’t find the back of the net as the match ended 4-2 in favor of FC Dallas.
UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake will visit CenturyLink Field in Seattle on Saturday, April 6. RSL will kick off against the Sounders at 8:00p MT.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
FCD: Carlos Gruezo (Michael Barrios, Jesus Ferreira), 1st minute: Right from the opening whistle FC Dallas put RSL under pressure and captilaized on a turnover in RSL’s half. Barrios slipped the ball into the path of Gruezo who finished easily past Nick Rimando for the game’s first goal.
RSL: Jefferson Savarino (Sebastian Saucedo), 31st minute: Fielding a pass from Saucedo, Savarino broke free of his man 25 yards from goal before firing a low curling shot that found the inside of the back post to draw the match level.
FCD: Paxton Pomykal, 32nd minute: After a botched clearance from an RSL defender, Pomykal jumped on the loose ball inside the box and calmly slotted the ball home to regain the lead.
FCD: Paxton Pomykal (Jesus Ferriera, Ryan Hollingshead), 64th minute: Looking for space at the top of the box, Pomykal opened up for a left-footed shot from 20 yards. Striking the ball towards goal, the ball took a deflection before skipping off the turf and into the far post past Rimando.
RSL: Marcelo Silva (Albert Rusnák), 66th minute: A wonderfully placed corner kick from Rusnák was met forcefully by Silva inside the area as he headed the ball down and into the near post to cut the FC Dallas lead in half.
FCD: Jesus Ferreira (Michael Barrios, Matt Hedges), 69th minute: Charging down the field looking to regain a two-goal advantage, Barrios found the sprinting run of Ferriera at the near post. Ferreira met the low cross to slide home for the fourth FC Dallas goal on the night.
NOTES:
- DF Justen Glad (toe), DF Tony Beltran (knee) and FW Joao Plata (ankle) were out of action due to injury.
- Real Salt Lake FW Corey Baird (U.S.), FW Sam Johnson (Liberia), FW Julian Vazquez (Mexico U-18) and MF Albert Rusnák (Slovakia) all returned from international duty, with Vazquez the only one of the four not in Saturday’s 18.
- Jefferson Savarino scored his first goal of the 2019 season, curling an effort from 25 yards that found the far side netting.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs. FC Dallas
Date: March 30, 2019
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 18,220
Weather: Sunny and 49 degrees
Scoring Summary:1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 1 2
FC Dallas 2 2 4
FCD: Carlos Gruezo (Michael Barrios, Jesus Ferreira) 1’
RSL: Jefferson Savarino (Sebastian Saucedo) 31’
FCD: Paxton Pomykal 32’
FCD: Paxton Pomykal (Jesus Ferriera, Ryan Hollingshead) 64’
RSL: Marcelo Silva (Albert Rusnák) 66’
FCD: Jesus Ferreira (Michael Barrios, Matt Hedges) 69’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando; Brooks Lennon, Nedum Onuoha, Erik Holt (Marcelo Silva, 11’), Aaron Herrera; Kyle Beckerman, Everton Luiz; Albert Rusnák (Sam Johnson, 79’); Jefferson Savarino, Damir Kreilach, Sebastian Saucedo (Corey Baird, 62’)
Subs not used:Andrew Putna, Donny Toia, Nick Besler, Tate Schmitt
FC Dallas: (4-3-3): Jesse Gonzalez; Reggie Cannon, Matt Hedges, Reto Ziegler, Ryan Hollingshead; Carlos Gruezo, Edwin Cerillo (Bryan Acosta, 53’), Michael Barrios, Paxton Pomykal, Pablo Aranguiz (Jacori Hayes, 65’); Jesus Ferreira (Zdenek Ondrasek, 82’)
Subs not used: Kyle Zobeck, Bressan, John Nelson, Thomas Roberts
Stats Summary: RSL / FCD
Shots: 7 / 12
Shots on Goal: 3 / 6
Saves: 2 / 1
Corner Kicks: 3 / 6
Fouls: 10 / 12
Offside: 2 / 0
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL – Damir Kreilach (ejection) 16’
RSL – Kyle Beckerman (caution) 44’
FCD – Reggie Cannon (caution) 45’+1
RSL – Sebastian Saucedo (caution) 48’
FCD – Jesse Gonzalez (caution) 53’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Baldomero Toldeo
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Chris Elliott
4th Official: Rosendo Mendoza
VAR: Alicia Messer
