For the past two weeks, it seemed as though Real Salt Lake could do no wrong on the soccer field. But on Saturday night, everything that could go wrong did go wrong as RSL saw its four-game winning streak and five-game unbeaten streak go down in flames in a 6-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls.
The six goals scored by New York were the most allowed in RSL history. Saturday was also the first time RSL has laid a goose egg in more than a month; but even though New York scored six goals, the game seemed to be decided by one play early in the game.
In just the eighth minute, RSL defender Jack Stewart was given a red card and a subsequent ejection for taking down New York forward John Wolyniec from behind on a breakaway goal opportunity. RSL head coach John Ellinger wasn’t sure the play warranted a red card.
“I thought it was extremely soft. I didn’t see the replay, but I remember seeing the contact-and with only nine minutes into the game?whatever,” Ellinger said.
Despite playing with 10 men, RSL held New York relatively in check. The Red Bulls were not able to get much going throughout the first half as they mustered only one solid scoring chance late in the first-half stoppage time. What New York did do in the first half is wear RSL down, and once Real Salt Lake gave up the match’s first goal in the 54th minute to Edson Buddle, RSL’s levee broke wide open.
“The back-breaker was the first goal. We were a little bit disappointed with how we reacted after that, but we’ll move on,” forward Jason Kreis said. “We have (moved on) all year, and we will this time as well.”
Except for an 11-minute stint in the middle of the half, New York never went more than eight minutes without adding to its lead in the second half. Buddle scored New York’s second and third goals in the 61st and 72nd minutes, and then let the rest of his team get in on the act. Jordan Cila and Todd Donivant scored their first goals of the year in the 77th and 79th minutes, respectively. Jon Wolyniec iced the cake, and his two-assist performance with an unassisted goal of his own in the 86th minute.
As a further testament to how one-sided the match was, New York outshot RSL 21-4, managing to put 13 of those shots on goal. RSL, on the other hand, managed to challenge New York goalkeeper Tony Meola twice.
When a team plays a man down for as long as RSL was forced to, bad things inevitably happen, and usually in the second half. It is hard to say what kind of match it would have been had the sides been equal, but it is obvious that Jack Stewart made a mistake by fouling Wolyniec so early in the match. At worst, the breakaway would have led to a 1-0 deficit. With the way RSL has been playing, the team would have had a good shot of climbing out of that hole, but being down a man is an instant recipe for death, which is exactly what RSL demonstrated Saturday night.
Chivas and L.A., RSL’s two closest competitors in the standings, didn’t make the loss any easier for RSL. Chivas beat the Houston Dynamos 3-2 to gain three points and actually leap-frog Colorado for the third spot in the Western Conference.
RSL’s next opponent, the L.A. Galaxy, stunned D.C. United with a 5-2 win in Washington D.C. at RFK stadium, a feat which no other MLS team has been able to do this year. L.A.’s win allowed the team to catch RSL in the standings. Both teams now stand at 29 points with identical 8-11-5 records.
Colorado did manage to help make the final playoff spot an interesting race when it lost to the Chicago Fire, but Colorado still remains three points ahead of RSL and L.A. for the final playoff spot in the West with only eight games remaining.
“D.C. lost to L.A. (5-2), so it makes Wednesday’s game pretty important against L.A. and Saturday against Colorado,” Ellinger said. “We have specific goals for the second half of the season, and we can still accomplish them.”
Game Notes: Chivas forward Ante Razov scored two goals in Chivas’ 3-2 victory over Houston, tying him with Jeff Cunningham for the top spot in goals scored this year?RSL comes home for an important two-game home stand as it faces the L.A. Galaxy and the Colorado Rapids, two teams RSL is competing with for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West.
Kamil KrzaczynskiRSL defender Willis Forko tries to avoid a sliding Houston Dynamo player during RSL’s 3-1 victory Aug. 19 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. RSL lost 6-0 in New York this weekend to end the team’s four-game winning streak.