Real Salt Lake 0 - Seattle Sounders 0 - Match recap, facts & more

OK, I will post my thoughts about the 4th of July match a bit later, but for now I thought I would share the official press information from the Communications team at RSL:

RSL DRAWS 0-0 v SEATTLE TO SNAP HOME LOSING SKID

In Debuts of New Defenders Mansally & Watson-Siriboe,
RSL Notches 7^th Shutout of 2012, Including 4^th at Home

SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, July 4, 2012) - Real Salt Lake (10-6-3, 33 points, West #2) tallied a home shutout - its seventh of the 2012 season and its fourth at home - in a hotly-contested 0-0 draw against Seattle Sounders FC. The rematch of last season's Western Conference Semifinals, won by RSL 3-2 on aggregate a year ago, saw extensive possession and positive play for RSL, which snapped a three-game MLS losing streak as well as a three-game home losing stretch across all competitions.

Tonight's capacity Independence Day crowd saw a standing-room-only attendance of 20,363, the eighth-largest crowd in Rio Tinto Stadium history for the MLS club, and the 17^th-largest crowd in RSL's eight-year history. RSL's all-time Rio Tinto Stadium record in sellout situations is now 6-6-5, with four of the sellouts coming in the team's 10 home games this season.

Real Salt Lake manager Jason Kreis inserted two new names into the starting eleven for the home side, both on the back line as DF Kenny Mansally - signed a month ago after being waived by New England in March - and DF Kwame Watson-Siriboe - acquired last week in a trade with Chicago Fire - made their RSL debuts. Mansally's appearance was his 90^th in six MLS seasons, but his first as a starting left back, his position with the Gambian National Team. The 23-year old played 79 minutes, many of them with a second-degree shoulder separation, displaying dynamic attacking skill from the back and solid one-on-one defending.

more after the jump:

Watson-Siriboe's appearance was his 11^th in MLS play, after the Univ. of Connecticut product played in 10 games (including seven starts) for the Fire during his 2010 rookie campaign. Without even a full training session with RSL, the 25-year old centerback filled in admirably for RSL's injured backline tandem of Jamison Olave and Chris Schuler, playing the full 90 minutes alongside veteran stabilizer Nat Borchers.

RSL dominated Seattle in the first half of the match, maintaining a 65% possession edge and creating several half-chances, with a trio of headers by FW Alvaro Saborio going high or wide, and a header by Borchers on a corner kick cleared off the line by Sounders DF Jeff Parke. Saborio earned a yellow card in the 41^st minute when he got tangled up with Seattle DF Leo Gonzalez on the sideline, resulting in a skirmish that also saw Sounders DF Jhon-Kennedy Hurtado cautioned.

After a scoreless first half, Saborio appeared to break the deadlock, slotting home an apparent goal in the 51^st minute. A stellar cross by RSL veteran Chris Wingert found "Sabo" even and then alone in on Sounders' ‘keeper Bryan Meredith, but the Costa Rican - RSL's leading 2012 goal-scorer - was whistled offside.

The Sounders' best scoring chance came in the 88^th minute, when a ball skipped across the RSL box but over the outstretched leg of an onrushing Cordell Cato, allowing RSL GK Nick Rimando - who had two spectacular plays on dangerous crosses in the first half - to notch his sixth clean sheet of 2012 and his 57^th career RSL shutout.

Real Salt Lake Match Notes - RSL 0 : 0 SEA

• Real Salt Lake's record of 10-6-3 (33 points) through 19 games is second only to its 2010 start and its 6-3-1 home mark is the second-best in the team's eight-year history...
• Tonight's home result snapped RSL's winless run at home at three games, the second-longest run in the club's eight-year history, trailing only the six-game losing streak late in the team's 2005 expansion season ...
• RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman returned from the one-game suspension for caution accumulation served last Saturday at Columbus, while tonight's yellow card shown to FW Fabian Espindola will cause the Argentine striker to miss Saturday's home game against Portland ... Espindola's strike partner, Alvaro Saborio, is on the precipice of a suspension, having earned his "Good Behavior Incentive" Saturday in Columbus ... His next caution will result in a one-game suspension, while MF Javier Morales today earned his Good Behavior Incentive, as tonight marked his third-consecutive game without a booking ...
• DF Jamison Olave (R calf) and MF Ned Grabavoy (adductor strain) were both listed on the substitutes' bench after missing the weekend trip to Columbus, Grabavoy entering in the 62^ndminute this evening ... With RSL DF Tony Beltran (adductor spasm) not dressing tonight vs SEA, only FW Alvaro Saborio has appeared in all 19 MLS games for RSL this year ... Beltran is expected to be available Saturday against Portland ...
• Real Salt Lake continues this week's stretch of three games by welcoming another Cascadia club, Portland Timbers FC, the Saturday, July 7 match kicking off at 7:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium ... Tickets for the second of four July home games for RSL canbe purchased at www.RealSaltLake.com or by calling (801) 727.2701.

There you go all the official info about the match. So while RSL's losing streak of 3 is over, the Sounders winless steak of 8 is now 9. Both teams will be back in action on Saturday in big Western Conference matches as the Sounders will play host to the Colorado Rapids, and Real Salt Lake will play host to the Portland Timbers.

OFF MY SOAPBOX