Rich Balchan helped RSL to a scoreless draw against Sporting KC. (KSL.com)
So I was sitting in a restaurant after work last Saturday night when I saw the RSL lineup hit my notifications bar. I knew Wingert would be out, but I saw that Nick Rimando and and Tony Beltran would be out as well. In stepped Jeff Attinella, Rich Balchan, and Abdoulie Mansally to try to hold down the fort. Now I'm pretty comfortable with Attinella in goal, as he filled in well for Rimando last year after Josh Saunders went down during the Gold Cup run. However, forgive me, but at that moment I thought that RSL was going to end up like the Starks at the Red Wedding in this MLS Cup remtach.
Luckily I was wrong. Attinella had a beast of a match in goal, and Balchan and Mansally more than held their own as RSL rode out the storm to claim a point in a nil-nil draw. Sporting got their chances though, and the first of which fell to Dom Dwyer, who made headlines before the match with his "we hate RSL very much" talk. In the 11th minute he got through the RSL defense and had a chance to put his money where his mouth is in a 1v1 with Attinella. However the RSL backup man was more than a match for Dwyer, stopping him cold to end the danger and leaving the Englishman like Joffrey after getting slapped by his uncle Tyrion.
Dwyer would get a chance to redeem himself in the second half though. In the 63rd minute he managed to evade Attinella and sent a shot in on the open net. Unfortunately for him, the shot hit the post and bounced away. Sal Zizzo recovered the rebound and seemed to have the match's opening goal in the bag, but his shot was desperately cleared by the bearded Nat Borchers, looking like a member of the Night's Watch fresh off the Wall.
Can you tell what show I watched this weekend? I apologize.
RSL seemed to be holding on for dear life when they caught a break in the 83rd minute. KC midfielder Oriol Rosell went in hard on Devon Sandoval and received a straight red for his trouble. However, RSL couldn't really mount much of an attack from their defensive posture, though Chris Schuler did manage to send a header just past the post from a Morales cross late in stoppage time. Attinella was called on more time though, as he stopped a goal bound effort from Graham Zusi in stoppage time as well. In the end, neither team could manage as many goals as Jon Snow has had girls....Sorry.
All in all it as a great defensive performance by RSL and a masterpiece by Attinella in goal. In my mind, it was always going to be an uphill battle to win in KC, even if we would have had all of our first choice guys available. I didn't really buy in to the "revenge" talk, as even a win wouldn't have brought the MLS Cup back our way. Thankfully it looks like Jeff Cassar and the team didn't buy into it either, and I'm really impressed with the way he set up the team, especially given the injury situation.
As I said earlier, I'm more than comfortable with Jeff Attinella in goal, but he was really standing on his head Saturday night. Thankfully his one error didn't cost us, but even Rimando has his moments. Balchan and Mansally both proved their worth as well, especially Balchan, who largely contained Zusi. RSL didn't have many chances, and with only having a paltry 43% of the possession their defense was pushed to the max. I think all of them passed with flying colors and helped the team pick up what could be a crucial road point. For Sporting Kansas City, they have to look at this match as an opportunity missed, and despite their large possession stat, I wasn't all that impressed outside of a couple of moments of good buildup.
Here are my three stars from the match:
FIRST STAR--Jeff Attinella, RSL.
I can't really say it better than the official MLS recap says it: "No Rimando? No problem." Jeff continues to impress me every time he gets in goal for us, and the more experience he gains, the less scary the inevitable future departure of Nick Rimando becomes.
SECOND STAR--Rich Balchan, RSL.
This guy has waited so long for his crack at the RSL first team, and so far he's really showing me why the club stuck by him during his last big injury. He strikes me as a better than average 1v1 defender and looks really comfortable in the system on the offensive or playing defense. He didn't have a perfect night against Zusi, but he certainly limited the danger posed by the US international.
THIRD STAR--Nat Borchers, RSL.
Chris Schuler has deservedly gotten a lot of the ink this season, even from me, but Nat really showed what he brings to the table in this match. He was a steady veteran presence that helped lead the depleted defense all night and his clearance of Zizzo's shot truly preserved the point for RSL.
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