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RSL gives up second-half goals in CCL loss to Tigres

Photo by Miguel Sierra/EFE via USA TODAY Sports
Photo by Miguel Sierra/EFE via USA TODAY Sports

Nick Rimando’s penalty-kick heroics were once again on full display, but the goalkeeper’s talents on spot kicks weren’t enough to lead Real Salt Lake to a CONCACAF Champions League victory on Wednesday night.

Finishes from José Arturo Rivas and Jurgen Damm proved to be just enough for Liga MX side Tigres UANL, which topped RSL, 2-0, on Wednesday night at the Estadio Universitario in the first leg of their CCL quarterfinal clash.

The opening goal came via a set piece in the 67th minute. Following a foul, Tigres forward Rafael Sóbis delivered a lofted ball to the back post on the ensuing free kick. A rising Rivas was there to meet it, and the defender’s header was smashed into the ground and past Rimando for the game’s lone finish.

Damm’s backbreaker came 19 minutes later, as the pacey winger tapped in a rebound on another set piece to solidify a major RSL deficit heading into the second leg.

Just moments before the end of the first half, it appeared that Rimando had given RSL a major lifeline with yet another penalty-kick stop. Following a handball call in the box, Rimando stepped up to deny André-Pierre Gignac’s spot kick to keep the game scoreless heading into the break.

After the halftime whistle, Tigres continued to attack, forcing Rimando into a pair of saves. In total, the Mexican side fired 19 shots to RSL’s 12 on the evening.

RSL’s best attempts came through offseason re-addition Yura Movsisyan, who created several looks in the first half. With Movsisyan leading the charge, RSL forced Nahuel Guzmán into five saves on the evening, but the MLS club had to settle for a two-goal loss in Mexico.

Damm’s late goal could prove vital heading into the second leg, which is scheduled for March 2 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Comments

  1. Rimando made a mistake on that first goal, starting to come out, stopping and then going back into goal on the ball. He lucked out a few minutes later when he made a similar mistake in judgment but was bailed out by a strike being off target. Kind of negates his save on the PK. Anyway, the score seemed almost inevitable after about the 60th minutes because from then until the second Tigres goal 90% of the game was played in the final third of RSL. What was disappointing was that they had times when they didn’t even try to retain possession. Several times a defender would get a loose ball, have time and space, and just kick it as far up the field as possible, not even looking for a teammate to pass to. That’s kid stuff and it’s that sort of giving up of possession (and not making good passes when they tried to keep possession) that doomed them. Because of that I thought RSL was very disappointing.

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  2. This time next week all MLS sides should be out of the tournament and we can laugh at the head of MLS talking about how great his league is. What a joke.

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    • No question Liga MX teams are better and that will be true even if MLS manages to win 1 or 2 of these series. But MLS teams are at a disadvantage being in preseason and, considering this league has only been around 20 years the gap isn’t all that big. I expect it will be gone altogether in the next 5-10 years. A little patience and perspective is necessary here.

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