Real Salt Lake 2 - LA Galaxy 3 - Match Recap, facts and more

Well it was ugly, no two ways around it, after the first 30 minutes RSL simply looked like they did against Minnesota a couple weeks ago, nobody looked overly interested in being there or playing well. Here is the official recap from the RSL Communications team:

RSL BLOWS 2-GOAL LEAD, SUCCUMBS TO RIVAL GALAXY AT SOLD-OUT RIO TINTO STADIUM

Beckerman, Saborio Ride Espindola Assists to 2-0 Lead; Donovan Scores Twice to Lead Los Angeles Comeback; RSL Falls to 10-4-2 (32 pts), Supporters Shield Lead On Line Saturday at Home vs San Jose Earthquakes

SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, June 20, 2012) - Real Salt Lake (10-4-2, 32 points, West #1) saw its lead atop both the overall and Western Conference standings diminished with tonight's rare 2-3 home loss against rival Los Angeles Galaxy (5-8-2, 17 points, West #7). RSL FW Fabian Espindola assisted on two early goals, setting up Captain Kyle Beckerman in the 9^th minute and strike partner Alvaro Saborio in the 24^th to pace RSL to an early 2-0 lead.

In the 9^th minute, DF Chris Wingert lofted a long diagonal ball to find Espindola in the corner. The Argentine forward - who scored two goals in Saturday's 3-0 road win at Chivas - took the ball to the endline and snapped a pass back to the penalty spot to find an onrushing Beckerman, who buried the 12-yard shot for his 4^th goal of the season, one more than he scored in all of 2011.

Fifteen minutes later, Costa Rican international Saborio benefited from his strike partner's distribution, taking a ball from the top of the 18 extended and utilizing a one-touch flick to surprise the Galaxy defense for his team-leading 7^th goal of the season, and his 41^st in 75 games across all competitions in the Claret-and-Cobalt since his arrival in 2010.

However, disaster struck before a sold-out Rio Tinto Stadium crowd on either side of halftime, engineered by U.S. soccer icon Landon Donovan. In the 29^th minute, Donovan ran onto a weak back-pass by RSL DF Tony Beltran, rounding GK Nick Rimando after the interception and cutting the RSL lead to 2-1. The unassisted goal - which gave the Galaxy significant life in the match - snapped Rimando's personal shutout streak at 280 minutes, dating back to May 5.

more after the jump:

RSL took the lead into halftime up 2-1, but five minutes after the break, another defensive gaffe led to a Galaxy equalizer. RSL DF Jamison Olave - the 2010 MLS Defender of the Year and a two-time MLS All-Star - uncharacteristically misplayed a ball just shy of midfield, and again it was Donovan who took it the other way, setting up a streaking Mike Magee on the left side, in alone on Rimando. Magee buried his effort to make it 2-2 with nearly a full half remaining.

In the 68^th minute, RSL conceded its third unanswered goal of the match when a Magee ball at midfield was played from the far touchline over the RSL backline to a streaking Donovan, who deftly took the ball out of the air and past an onrushing Rimando in one smooth motion, then buried the shot in the empty net to put the Galaxy ahead with 22 minutes remaining.

Los Angeles would not even attempt another shot the rest of the way, while RSL pushed everything it had forward, forcing Galaxy GK Josh Saunders to make two saves and seeing several other opportunities go just wanting, including a deflected Saborio shot in the box in the 84^th minute and a Javier Morales chip over the bar in the 94^th minute. Morales' appearance was his second consecutive 30-minute performance off the bench, as the Argentine playmaker works his way back from various muscle injuries that have dogged him since his horrific injury last May.

Real Salt Lake Match Notes

• Real Salt Lake fell to 6-2-0 at home in MLS play this season, losing 0-1 to the other LA-based club, Chivas USA, back on March 24 ... RSL also suffered a 3^rd home loss this year, back on May 29 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, 2-3, to the NASL Minnesota Stars.
• In 233 previous MLS games since the club's inception back in 2005, Real Salt Lake had never before blown a 2-goal lead to suffer a loss ... In CONCACAF Champions League play, RSL dropped a 5-4 decision in Mexico City to Cruz Azul in a rain-soaked, lightning-delayed game that it had once led 3-1 in August, 2010.
• With a sellout crowd of 20,382, tonight marked the 16^th sellout in Rio Tinto Stadium history for Real Salt Lake, which fell to 6-6-4 all-time in front of capacity crowds at the Sandy venue ... Tonight's attendance was the 13^th-largest in the Stadium's RSL history.
• RSL saw it's active unbeaten run in MLS play perish at seven games overall, equaling the longest in MLS this season (D.C. United, 3/24-4/28; and Kansas City, 3/10-4/18) ... Real Salt Lake's last previous loss came on April 21 at San Jose, as the nine-man RSL side succumbed to a pair of stoppage-time Earthquakes goals to drop a 1-3 decision.
• Tonight's result snapped RSL's five-game home winning streak, tied for the longest run in the club's eight-year history.
• With his caution tonight, MF Javier Morales joins MF Kyle Beckerman and FW Alvaro Saborio in "yellow peril," the trio suspended for one game with their next yellow cards ... Beckerman has already benefited from the league's "Good Behavior Incentive," after going three consecutive games without a booking ... Saborio needs two more caution-free games to see his yellow-card total reduced to 3, while Morales will need now to go three consecutive games without discipline in order to earn his reduction.
• Only DF Tony Beltran and FW Alvaro Saborio have appeared in all 16 MLS games for RSL this year, with Beltran the team's 2012 minutes leader (1424) ...
• Real Salt Lake continues this week's stretch of three games against California-based opposition in eight days by welcoming the current West #2 side, San Jose Earthquakes, this Saturday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium; tickets can be purchased at www.RealSaltLake.com or by calling (801) 727.2701.

Referee: Kevin Stott

Referee's Assistants: Corey Rockwell, Corey Parker

4th Official: Tyler Ploeger

Attendance: 20,382

Time of Game: 1:54

Weather: Clear and 73 degrees

So last night was the first match I have missed since the team moved to Rio Tinto Stadium 4 years ago, and from the various reports of friends at the match, as well as what I saw on TV, I am not only upset at the team for the mistakes and lack of focus that lead to the loss. I am equally upset at our fans whom I have heard were throwing things at the players and officials, fighting in the stands, and generally acting the role of fools. Nobody dislikes a loss more than I do, but throwing things and fighting isn't ever the solution, it only makes us look like a second class team and fanbase. If you did those things, stop, if you can't control your own behavior then please stop coming to matches, the other fans don't need to have to deal with you. If those around you did those things, report them and get them out of our stadium so we can support our team in good times and in bad without acting like idiots. I was so proud when I heard over the commentators the Believe chant late in the match, as fans pour out their energy and emotions to support the team, that is what real fans do.

OFF MY SOAPBOX