It's Ok to Win Ugly: RSL Captures First Win in Canada

Nick Rimando was a major force in preserving three points for RSL (RealSaltLake.com)

RSL has been playing some sexy football lately, but that wasn't quite what we got in Toronto.  Coach Kreis tried a new look 4-3-3 formation that was previewed in the win over Carolina in the Open Cup.  To my mind, it didn't do much, but was as good a time as any to try it out in MLS play.

It was a rough and tumble match that was hard to behold on a few occasions.  It seemed to me as if TFC was really taking an "if you can't beat them, BEAT them" approach.  Though to their credit, I thought RSL did a decent job of keeping their discipline, well until late, but more on that in a minute.

The lone RSL goal came from what might be an unlikely source.  MF Yordany Alvarez got the start and made good with an absolute MISSILE from outside the box in the 45th minute.  The TFC 'keeper had no chance as the ball sliced into the back of the net to make it 0-1 to the Claret and Cobalt before halftime.

TFC came knocking in the second half, but Nick Rimando was more than up to the task.  However, the big talking point of the match came in the 79th minute when TFC's Luis Silva appeared to kick Tony Beltran in the back of the knee after a scuffle.  Tony boiled over and pushed Silva down.  Toronto's Doneil Henry then came charging in from behind and shoved Beltran, sending him flying a few yards.  Robbie Findley stepped in for RSL, confronting Henry before referee Chris Penso stepped in and took over.  Beltran and Henry both received red cards for their troubles, and Findley got a yellow.  Silva got off without punishment.  I can't really argue with any of the cards that were dished out, but I hope that the league takes a good hard look at what Silva did to initiate the proceedings.  In my mind, it was purposefully done in an attempt to injure Tony.

Pretty much the entire defense came up big in the closing minutes as TFC assaulted the RSL goal.  Rimando made a couple of huge saves, and Nat Borchers cleared a potential equalizer off of the line.  Even Aaron Maund, who had a tough match in his Open Cup run out, played big most of the day and showed that he was definitely capable of playing on our back line.

Now our three stars for the match:

THIRD STAR: Olmes Garcia, F, RSL:
Sure Olmes didn't score a goal, but it's so fun to watch him harass opposing defenses, and he really got in the heads of the TFC folks, drawing several fouls.  He, along with Beltran, helped set up Alvarez's goal as well.

SECOND STAR: Aaron Maund, DF, RSL:
Much, MUCH better from this young man, he even earned the praise "Super" from Coach Kreis after the match.  I thought he made very few big mistakes, and looked much more comfortable than he did in the open cup, though again I wonder how much playing in front of Nick Rimando helps with that.  Now, with the injuries to Schuler and Watson-Siriboe, we need to see him step up and continue to improve when he gets the chance to play.

FIRST STAR: Nick Rimando, GK, RSL:
Seriously, what more is there to possibly say about Rimando?  He preserved the points for RSL on a couple of occasions on Saturday, and I think you can go back and really see that without him, RSL would not have been as successful over the years.  Now he's leaving for the Gold Cup, and we'll see if Josh Saunders can help us as he helped LA over the last couple of years.