Player of the Match: Corey Baird takes a dive in RSL’s 1-0 loss to LAFC

It was an ugly game. Real Salt Lake lost at home to a team that is winless on the road this year. RSL lost at home to a team without Tristan Blackmon with a full strength lineup after a weeks rest. It wasn’t a good performance. Pablo Ruiz had a few good looks in the first half, but that was pretty much it.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a player of the match, right?

For starters, Corey Baird had a pretty solid game. Sure, he plays for LAFC now but he still has the RSL crown tattoo. And, sure he did trip over Aaron Herrera’s foot and try to get a penalty kick. I know the fans boo’d him but we all know we cheered for him when he did that for RSL. So we can’t even really be mad.

The next player of the match goes to Aaron Herrera. He did fine defensively despite the goal but honestly the moment that I’m grateful for is him rushing Diego Rossi off the field. I think that was a moment that we all needed at that point in the game.

And lastly, the person who truly carried this game: Nick Rimando on the commentary. For those of you lucky enough to be in stadium, you missed out on listening to an RSL legend talk about his former team for two hours. I was hoping it would be a bit more drama filled, but alas, Rimando did good work replacing Brian Dunseth on the call for his broadcasting debut.

With that sour taste in our mouths for the next few days, let’s hope RSL’s next match with Vancouver on Wednesday goes a little bit better.