Real Salt Lake 0 vs FC Dallas 0
September 24, 2016; Sandy, Utah; Rio Tinto Stadium
Real Salt Lake (12-10-9, 45 points); FC Dallas (15-8-8, 53 points)
Man of the Match: Luke Mulholland. The 28-year-old English midfielder controlled the midfield through and through all game long. Creating chances in the attacking third for RSL all night long, he helped apply pressure on the Dallas backline. His biggest contribution of the night came on the defensive side of the ball, where he put his nose to the grindstone, giving his due diligence for 90 minutes.
Telling Stat: 9-2. RSL earned more corners than Dallas on the night, serving several dangerous attempts into the box all game long. Several players also took the set pieces, Burrito Martinez, Javier Morales and Luke Mulholland all served balls in from the corner flag, testing the Dallas defenders and goalkeeper Chris Seitz all night long.
What You Missed: Pedro Baez made his debut for the RSL first team in front of 20,069 RSL faithful after coming on for Olmes Garcia in the 85th minute. Although Baez didn’t see much of the ball in his five minutes at Rio Tinto, the 19-year-old striker showed that he provides yet another attacking option for Head Coach Jeff Cassar going forward. RSL signed Baez to a loan deal through the end of the season and showed that he is a promising attacking talent for the Claret-and-Cobalt.
So What: RSL stays in fourth place in the Western Conference with 45 points on the season. With three games left in the regular season, the team will look to lock up its playoff spot in the coming weeks. RSL will head to San Jose for a matchup with the Earthquakes on October 1. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw at Rio Tinto on July 22, a game that saw Luke Mulholland score a peach of a volley in the 64th minute. RSL will look to take all of the spoils when that game kicks off at Avaya Stadium at 8:30 p.m. MT.
