Sandy, Utah (Saturday July 29, 2017) – Real Salt Lake (7-12-4, 25 pts) drew 2-2 with Columbus Crew SC in a topsy-turvy affair Saturday in front of 18,758 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium.
In a slow first half, Columbus found the breakthrough when Crew SC forward Ola Kamara slammed home from a missed clearance by the RSL defense. RSL saw several chances before halftime with the best chance falling to the feet of FW Luis Silva who couldn’t find the open net just before the halftime whistle.
The second 45 minutes started with a flurry when a handball from Crew SC drew a penalty kick in the 50th minute. FW Joao Plata calmly dispatched the penalty with ease as he slammed home the game’s equalizer. Just four minutes later FW Jefferson Savarino found himself streaking in against Crew SC goalkeeper Zach Steffen. Savarino slotted his shot just inside the far post for the go-ahead goal to make it 2-1.
Crew SC cooled RSL’s strong second half start four minutes after the Claret-and-Cobalt took the lead when Kamara scored his second of the match when he tucked home a rebounded shot off the crossbar. MF Albert Rusnák saw his best chance of the evening clatter off the post in what turned out to be RSL’s best look at a winner in the second half.
RSL kept the Crew SC defense busy throughout the night, maintaining 67% of the total possession in the match while attempting 663 total passes.
UP NEXT: In the third and final game of a three-game home stand RSL will play host to the Houston Dynamo at Rio Tinto Stadium (8:00 pm MST kickoff) on Saturday, August 5. RSL and Houston have already met once in 2017 with the Dynamo taking all three points in a lopsided 5-1 win at BBVA Compass Stadium on the last day of May. RSL will look to right the ship and take all the spoils this the second time around.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
CLB – Ola Kamara (Connor Maloney), 15th minute: A poor defensive clearance from RSL gifted a second opportunity to Crew SC. Maloney poked the ball back across the box from the earlier chance and Kamara was there to slam the shot home from six yards out.
RSL – Joao Plata (PK), 50th minute: Combining inside the Crew SC penalty area gave RSL forward Luis Silva a chance to create space for a shot. A Crew SC arm found its way to the ball to give the penalty and Plata finished the chance, slamming home the spot kick into the top corner.
RSL – Jefferson Savarino (Luis Silva), 54th minute: A lightning quick counter attack saw Silva spring Savarino forward at midfield for a break-away chance. Savarino did well to keep his cool as he slotted home the game’s second goal.
CLB – Ola Kamara, 60th minute: A quick break from Crew SC put forward Ethan Finlay in on goal as he beat RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando and clipped his shot off the crossbar. Kamara was there to clean the chance up as he slammed home for his second of the game.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS:
CLB – Zack Steffen, 27th minute: RSL forward Luis Silva did well to clip the ball into the box into the path of fellow striker Jefferson Silva. Silva found himself space for a shot but his rifled volley was tipped beautifully over the bar by Steffen to keep RSL at bay.
CLB – Alex Crognale, 45th minute: A deflected shot inside the area from Jefferson Savarino found its way to RSL forward Luis Silva with the entire goal to aim for. Silva put his shot on frame but couldn’t beat Crognale who positioned himself well to stop the effort.
CLB – Connor Maloney, 64th minute: Another through ball from RSL midfielder Albert Rusnák found the run of Luis Silva who squared the ball to Joao Plata. Plata’s first time effort was blocked well by Maloney with a sliding challenge to clear the danger.
NOTES:
- Head Coach Mike Petke served his one-game suspension against Crew SC after being ejected from the match against Sporting Kansas City on July 22. In Petke’s absence, Assistant Coach Freddy Juarez led the team against Crew SC.
- Joao Plata now has four goals in his last four games bringing his season total to six. He pulled level with Robbie Findley in third on Real Salt Lake’s all-time scoring list with his 36th goal for RSL.
- RSL remains undefeated in its last four matches going 2-0-2 since July 4.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs Columbus Crew SC
Date: July 29, 2017
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 18,758
Weather: Clear and 91 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 2 2
Columbus Crew SC 1 1 2
CLB – Ola Kamara (Connor Maloney), 16’
RSL – Joao Plata (PK), 50’
RSL – Jefferson Savarino (Luis Silva), 54’
CLB – Ola Kamara, 60’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake: (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Marcelo Silva, Justen Glad, Danilo Acosta; Sunny, Kyle Beckerman; Jefferson Savarino (Brooks Lennon, 68’), Albert Rusnák, Joao Plata (Sebastian Saucedo, 82’); Luis Silva (Yura Movsisyan, 78’).
Subs not used: Lalo Fernandez, David Horst, Chris Wingert, Luke Mulholland
Columbus Crew SC: (3-4-3): Zack Steffen; Nicolai Naess, Alex Crognale, Josh Williams; Waylon Francis (Jukka Raitala, 78’), Wil Trapp, Artur, Connor Maloney (Héctor Jiménez, 82’); Justin Meram (Kekuta Manneh, 66’), Ola Kamara, Ethan Finlay
Subs not used: Brad Stuver, Mohammed Abu, Cristian Martínez, Adam Jahn
Stats Summary: RSL/CLB
Shots: 20 / 13
Shots on Goal: 7 / 2
Saves: 0 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 4
Fouls: 5 / 5
Offside: 0 / 3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL – Sebastian Saucedo (caution) 88’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Kevin Stott
Assistant Referees: Brian Poeschel, TJ Zablocki
4th Official: Baboucarr Jallow
