Real Salt Lake Dejected Following Heartbreaking Road Loss Against Vancouver Whitecaps
Oct 10, 2020, 10:54 PM
Real Salt Lake forward Justin Meram, right, passes the ball between Vancouver Whitecaps defender Ranko Veselinovic, left and midfielder Janio Bikeli, center, during the first half of an MLS soccer match in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. Steve Dykes, Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Real Salt Lake lose for the second time this season to the Vancouver Whitecaps as RSL continues to plummet down the Western Conference standings.
Finally. A Goal For RSL.
The match began on RSL’s terms with opportunities presenting themselves throughout the first half.
RSL found the breakthrough they were looking for in the 37th minute when Maikel Chang whipped in a beautiful delivery to the back post. A simple tap from Justin Meram’s head found the feet of Damir Kreilach who was able to tap the ball into the back of the net with ease.
BOOOOOOM ⚡️
1-0 #VANVRSL pic.twitter.com/lMiua8nTZo
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 11, 2020
Freddy Juarez, the RSL fanbase and everyone involved with the club blew a collective sigh of relief.
Finally, for the first time in three matches, an RSL player scored a goal.
Don’t Hold Your Breathe
However, the chances were few and far between for both teams and when Douglas Martinez knocked the ball into his own net following a set-piece delivery from Vancouver in the 71st minute you wondered who and how RSL going to find an answer.
Then, the nightmare for RSL grew and just four-minute after the own goal Lucas Cavallini, the Vancouver Whitecaps designated player, put the winning goal away for Vancouver in the 75th minute after an Andrew Putna save fell to the feet of the Canadian international.
75' Vancouver scores again
2-1 #VANvRSL pic.twitter.com/B0ReaowOkd
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 11, 2020
The loss marks the second time this season in which RSL has been defeated by one of the worst teams in the conference.
A Dejected Manager
A dejected Freddy Juarez spoke to the media following the conclusion of the match.
“Goals win games, listen, goals win games. And if we are not scoring goals then we are not going to win many games,” Juarez said.
Juarez continued to share his displeasure regarding RSL’s inability over the last five years to have a goal scorer that can be relied on.
“We have not had that for 4, excuse me, 5 years,” Juarez stated. “This is nothing new to us. We have to claw our way to results and tonight we were not able to do that.”
It also marks the first time this season that Vancouver has conceded the first goal and ended up winning the match. Previously, they had lost nine consecutive matches when conceding first.
Furthermore, RSL cannot find consistency in front of goal to beat teams. The only player who has showcased the ability to score on multiple occasions in Damir Kreilach who has done so on seven occasions in 2020. The next best player on RSL has three.
That’ll do it in Portland…vs Vancouver… pic.twitter.com/eMtP0flbOZ
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 11, 2020
RSL will be without Albert Rusnak, who has been called into international duty and will only be available for selection for the final three regular-season games. With how RSL has played as of late, those final three games may not matter when it comes to the race to secure a playoff spot in 2020.
Next Match
RSL will return home and prepare for the Portland Timbers in a midweek match with kick-off scheduled for ______
You can watch the broadcast on KSLSports.com or by downloading the KSL TV app.
