Match Thoughts: Real Salt Lake vs Colorado Rapids

Joao Plata and Alvaro Saborio celebrate RSL's equalizer (Deseret News)

So 24 hours on, I've finally gotten to sit down and and think about what I saw and what I thought about the 1-1 draw between RSL and Colorado at Rio Tinto Stadium.  The Rocky Mountain Cup is on the line this year as two of the three matches between the two sides will take place in Colorado.  This was their only shot vs the Rapids in Salt Lake this year, and I think they blew it a bit, despite bossing the second half to get a result.

First off, I have to say that my thoughts go out to Matt Pickens.  The Colorado 'keeper broke his left arm in the 4th minute when Kwame Watson-Siriboe collided with him while battling for a corner kick.  From my seat in lower section 30 (the opposite side of the pitch) it looked like a regular battle for a corner.  The video however, is......something else.  It was just brutal.  Pickens is expected to miss 3-4 months, and the Puddle wishes him a speedy and full recovery.  Clint Irwin did remarkably well for the Rapids coming on as a sub. and perhaps had Colorado's best performance in goal this year, though he probably could have done better on Sabo's goal.

The best word I could use to describe the game from RSL's point of view is: sloppy.  It turned out that a lot of the passing stats were pretty decent, RSL completed 87% of their passes and had nearly 70% of the possession, but there were some pretty big flubbed passes, even one from Kyle Beckerman, which is pretty uncharacteristic. There were also some pretty weak clearances from the back, as it just seemed like RSL's execution was a step or two off all match long.

The offense still seems to be very sluggish, and both of RSL's starting forwards had chances that they would have liked to have back.  In the 18th minute Robbie Findley had a great look at goal from just outside the area but missed.  That really had to be better.  Devon Sandoval brought a ball down for Sabo in the 83rd minute and put it on a plate for him, but Sabo also blazed his shot over the bar.  In the end, only 4 of RSL's 19 shots ended up on target, a pretty paltry sum when the Claret and Cobalt should have done a better job testing Colorado's young keeper. 

Now for my grades, which don't mean much, it's just how I see it.

Defense--D+
Now, you might think this is a little harsh being that RSL only gave up the one goal.  However, I'm taking into account quite a few sloppy clearances and the fact that our back line gave up way too many cheap looks on Nick Rimando's goal.  Rimando played well, as usual, but I think he arguably had a tougher day than the Rapid's young keeper.  RSL was also very fortunate that the Rapids were having some issues hitting the target as well.

As for the goal, it was a real kicker.  I just see us continually getting skinned again and again until Chris Wingert is back.  For the most part, our guys have done an admirable job, but getting absolutely torched on that goal by Colorado was one of the worst moments of the season so far, for me.  The defense must tighten up.

Midfield--C
I felt the Rapids did a pretty good job putting off our guys in the midfield from time to time.  In the end it's still a work in progress as Luis Gil and Sebastian Velasquez continue to mold themselves into the fabric of this team.  They both looked like they were in a little over their head at times, maybe because of the pressure of the rivalry and the home opener.  I wouldn't say the service was quality either, but in the end it was another serviceable and average performance from some guys who are doing a pretty decent job of holding it together.  It was nice to see Grabavoy back, and this team need Javier Morales as the dynamo.

Forwards--B
Plata and Saborio have instant chemistry.  They showed it again yesterday.  The applause for Plata when he checked in yesterday were massive, while the ovation for Findley was, shall we say, subdued when he checked out.  Now, while I don't think it's fair to judge Robbie on just three matches, and I think any expectation that he was going to come in and score right off the bat was probably a little optimistic, this much seems plain to me: The fanbase still isn't sold on this move and it's not moving in the right direction, yet.

During the post game show they made a point that the return of Javier Morales would probably help open Robbie up some.  I hope they're right, but I think the fans want to see something now.  I know Robbie is working his tail off and wants to contribute just as bad as the fans want him to, but it's just not there yet.  Failing to hit the target and work the keeper on that nice look in the first half just brought back every not so great memory of Robbie in many RSL fans, including myself.  I know he can do better, and he's going to have to, because Sabo is going out on international duty and he has all of our goals.

I do want to give a shout out to Devon Sandoval though.  I LOVE this kid. I loved him as a draft pick and I love what I've seen of him on the pitch.  He handles the ball really well, and had Sabo finished that late chance yesterday, Devon would have had the game winning assist.  He seems to have the perspective and work ethic that both Jason Kreis and the RSL family admire so much, and he's going to learn a TON from Sabo.