Espindola Gives Real only MLS Goal of the Night

Fabian Espindola knocked in a loose rebound late in stoppage time to give Real Salt Lake a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids and a leg-up in the 2011 Rocky Mountain Cup.  Espindola also gave MLS fans the only goal of the evening, as the other match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Toronto FC ended 0-0.

Colorado was again without Conor Casey and Pablo Mastroeni, and while the midfield was able to play well against the home team, missing both of these players is obviously a problem for the Rapids.  Colorado created few chances this match, mainly relaying on hitting RSL on the counter using the speed of Omar Cummings and Caleb Forlan.  But with Cummings coming off in the 64th minute for Quincy Amarikwa, and Amarikwa coming off five minutes later with an injury, the Colorado attack was hampered throughout.  Their best chance of the match may have been Nate Borchers early in the first half who was unmarked on a header but his angle put the shot wide of the goal.  Jamie Smith had a good chance the minute prior, as his looping shot outside the box befuddled the RSL defense but was easily handled by Nick Rimando.

Espindola had seemingly put Real Salt Lake ahead in the first half scoring on a free kick but he was ruled offsides.  RSL dominated possession in the first and had numerous scoring chances.  Credit to Matt Pickens and the Colorado fullbacks for keeping RSL off the scoresheet; Colorado played a high line that led to eight offsides’ calls on Real and when they got behind the line Pickens made some great saves.   In stoppage time, Javier Morales lined up a great free kick that was initially saved by Pickens but he was unable to punch it clear.  It landed in front of a mostly empty net and after a brief scramble Espindola kicked it home.

The win keeps RSL’s perfect start to the season just that – still perfect.  Hats off to the teams for finding a way to win against a good opponent in bad weather.  Hats off as well to the Rapids, who despite missing two starters had a pretty good game plan and almost escaped Rio Tinto with a point.  However, without Conor Casey to compliments Omar Cummings and Caleb Forlan, and with Pablo Mastroeni to provide some defense in the midfield, this team needs to find ways to win.

MLS was minutes away from having possibly their three best teams play on the same night and score zero goals, as the earlier match in the double-header ended in a scoreless draw.  For the second time in a week, higher-than-normal home crowds came out to see David Beckham and the Galaxy, and what they saw was Beckham pick up his fifth yellow card on the year, meaning he will sit the next Galaxy game.  They also saw the Galaxy hit the post three times this game and have more scoring chances than the home team.  But the best chance to break the scoreless draw may have been Danleigh Borman’s free kick that found an unmarked Joao Plata in front of Donovan Ricketts.  Plata, however, could only weakly head the ball into the keeper’s arms.  Overall both teams had excellent chances to win this match but saw their opportunities missed or denied by the pole.

For Toronto, this is a good result and fans should have been thrilled to see Julian De Guzman back in the starting lineup.  The more and more I see of the Reds, the more and more I think they could make a late run at a playoff spot once they get everything together.  As for the Galaxy, the team really needs to find a finisher.  Mike Magee had another chance to score off a Beckham corner but unlike in DC, he missed the shot.  Maybe it is missing Landon Donovan, but LA needs someone to either step up (Angel, Magee, Barrett) or find a forward who can finish in front of the net.