RSL drops three on Sporting KC in recovery win

After a dismal first half of soccer against Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake righted the ship for an optimism-affirming 3-0 win over their longtime rivals.

• HT: The first half saw a fair few RSL shots, but none were particularly potent. There were a few moments where Sergio Cordova sparked some ire — one particular moment here Jefferson Savarino sent in an absolutely perfect cross, and Cordova didn’t extend his
• GOAL, RSL 1-0 SKC, 51’ Aha! Sergio Cordova gets on the end of a really nice Andrew Brody cross and heads it home. A really lovely goal, and he’s very clearly relieved to have scored. He does strip off his shirt in celebration, receiving the mandatory yellow card for his trouble.
• 62’ Roger Espinoza is shown a straight red card for a really bad tackle on Jasper Löffelsend, who takes quite a long time to get back into action.
• GOAL, RSL 2-0 SKC, 65’ Pablo Ruiz scores a really lovely goal from the top of the box, and it’s not one of those high, driven shots — it’s low, it’s placed, and it’s accurate. A nice pass from Jefferson Savarino hands RSL’s designated player the assist.
• GOAL, RSL 3-0 SKC, 71’ Jefferson Savarino rises up like a salmon (that’s the phrase, right?) to head home a Justin Meram cross. What a goal, and what a game.
• 72’ Sergio Cordova and Jasper Löffelsend sit, while Anderson Julio and Nick Besler enter.
• The rest of the match mostly plays out like you’d expect, with some fun opportunities for a fourth, but between the offside flag, and, well, the offside flag, we’re stapled at three goals for this one.