Tweet
Cunningham goal hands RSL a win
SALT LAKE CITY - Both Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy desperately needed a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive; both teams had moments of furious attacking Wednesday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium that kept things tense.
But in the end, it was Real Salt Lake that came away with the 1-0 victory against the Galaxy. Although Real earned three points in the standings for the victory, the game was worth six points as L.A. missed out on a chance to earn points and Real took a big step toward the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history.
Jeff Cunningham's goal on the hour mark gave Real the victory, ending the Galaxy's winning streak after two games. It also helped the home team make up for a difficult loss suffered Saturday against the Red Bulls. That game, a 6-0 loss, was the worst in Real history.
The victory, Real's ninth of the season, brought Salt Lake's total points in the standings to 32. RSL now is tied with Colorado for fourth place in the Western Conference; fortunately, Real face the Rapids in three days.
Salt Lake had the advantage early on; Real earned three consecutive corner kicks in the opening four minutes.
Then, the Galaxy showed how dangerous they were in the sixth minute with a pass from Landon Donovan to Alan Gordon for a shot that bounced off the crossbar. In the seventh minute, Real again got lucky when Quavas Kirk centered it to Gordon for a look from inside the six-yard box. Salt Lake's defense, however, marked Gordon tight enough to force a turnover.
Real had another decent look in the 20th minute when Andy Williams tracked the ball down to the left outside the penalty area, then centered it back to Carey Talley above the box. Talley's left-footed shot, however, was well wide.
In the next minute, the Galaxy had another good look from Gordon. Gordon found himself in the perfect position for a shot, but also found himself with Eddie Pope marking him from behind. Gordon's shot was hard, but high.
Los Angeles got a break in the 27th minute when Mehdi Ballouchy took down Donovan from behind, 36 yards away from the goal. Donovan's free kick went to Chris Albright inside the six-yard box; a point-blank header seemed destined for the net, but Real goalkeeper Scott Garlick made the reflex save.
Real had an equally good shot in the 29th minute after Tyrone Marshall fouled Real's Kevin Novak hard enough to send the Salt Lake player flying and get a yellow card. On the free kick, a touch over to Cunningham and a cross over to Williams led to a 20-plus-yard shot with some pace that L.A. goalie Kevin Hartman made an acrobatic dive to his right to save.
Cunningham gave Real another good look in the 34th minute with a high cross through the area to Chris Klein; Klein seemed surprised when the ball got to him, and his shot flew high and over.
At the beginning of the second half, the Real faithful held their breath after Gordon got tangled up with RSL captain Jason Kreis. Kreis wound up rolling on the turf clutching his left knee, but eventually he jogged off the field and then returned to play.
In the 50th minute, the Galaxy played a good through ball to Paulo Nagamura. Novak was beaten, and was forced to commit a professional foul to stop the play. Novak was shown a yellow card for the tackle.
Real's offensive pressure paid off in the 60th minute. Klein sent a high cross from the right to inside the area on the left to Cunningham. Cunningham turned with the ball, raced towards the endline and shot the ball at a narrow angle; the shot bounced off Hartman's hands, rolled through his legs and meandered into the goal for a 1-0 Real lead.
After giving up the soft goal, Hartman made a tough save in the next minute. A combination of Cunningham and Ballouchy got the ball to Williams for a one-touch bullet of a shot from 10 yards out that Hartman was able to save.
Although Kreis had played a s
SALT LAKE CITY - Both Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy desperately needed a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive; both teams had moments of furious attacking Wednesday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium that kept things tense.
But in the end, it was Real Salt Lake that came away with the 1-0 victory against the Galaxy. Although Real earned three points in the standings for the victory, the game was worth six points as L.A. missed out on a chance to earn points and Real took a big step toward the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history.
Jeff Cunningham's goal on the hour mark gave Real the victory, ending the Galaxy's winning streak after two games. It also helped the home team make up for a difficult loss suffered Saturday against the Red Bulls. That game, a 6-0 loss, was the worst in Real history.
The victory, Real's ninth of the season, brought Salt Lake's total points in the standings to 32. RSL now is tied with Colorado for fourth place in the Western Conference; fortunately, Real face the Rapids in three days.
Salt Lake had the advantage early on; Real earned three consecutive corner kicks in the opening four minutes.
Then, the Galaxy showed how dangerous they were in the sixth minute with a pass from Landon Donovan to Alan Gordon for a shot that bounced off the crossbar. In the seventh minute, Real again got lucky when Quavas Kirk centered it to Gordon for a look from inside the six-yard box. Salt Lake's defense, however, marked Gordon tight enough to force a turnover.
Real had another decent look in the 20th minute when Andy Williams tracked the ball down to the left outside the penalty area, then centered it back to Carey Talley above the box. Talley's left-footed shot, however, was well wide.
In the next minute, the Galaxy had another good look from Gordon. Gordon found himself in the perfect position for a shot, but also found himself with Eddie Pope marking him from behind. Gordon's shot was hard, but high.
Los Angeles got a break in the 27th minute when Mehdi Ballouchy took down Donovan from behind, 36 yards away from the goal. Donovan's free kick went to Chris Albright inside the six-yard box; a point-blank header seemed destined for the net, but Real goalkeeper Scott Garlick made the reflex save.
Real had an equally good shot in the 29th minute after Tyrone Marshall fouled Real's Kevin Novak hard enough to send the Salt Lake player flying and get a yellow card. On the free kick, a touch over to Cunningham and a cross over to Williams led to a 20-plus-yard shot with some pace that L.A. goalie Kevin Hartman made an acrobatic dive to his right to save.
Cunningham gave Real another good look in the 34th minute with a high cross through the area to Chris Klein; Klein seemed surprised when the ball got to him, and his shot flew high and over.
At the beginning of the second half, the Real faithful held their breath after Gordon got tangled up with RSL captain Jason Kreis. Kreis wound up rolling on the turf clutching his left knee, but eventually he jogged off the field and then returned to play.
In the 50th minute, the Galaxy played a good through ball to Paulo Nagamura. Novak was beaten, and was forced to commit a professional foul to stop the play. Novak was shown a yellow card for the tackle.
Real's offensive pressure paid off in the 60th minute. Klein sent a high cross from the right to inside the area on the left to Cunningham. Cunningham turned with the ball, raced towards the endline and shot the ball at a narrow angle; the shot bounced off Hartman's hands, rolled through his legs and meandered into the goal for a 1-0 Real lead.
After giving up the soft goal, Hartman made a tough save in the next minute. A combination of Cunningham and Ballouchy got the ball to Williams for a one-touch bullet of a shot from 10 yards out that Hartman was able to save.
Although Kreis had played a s
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
Comment