Good evening folks. I’m coming to you from Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. The new home for Real Salt Lake is hosting its inaugural match tonight and the best word I can use to describe the stadium is stunning. From the seats to the grass to the mountain back drop, Major League Soccer’s newest venue is breathtaking.

Now, whether the soccer played tonight will be worthy of the stadium remains to be seen. Real Salt Lake and the New York Red Bulls are both in desperate need of points in the playoff race and three points for either squad tonight will offer up some breathing room in a crazy MLS playoff race.

The New York Red Bulls come into the match short-handed, missing Jorge Rojas and Gabriel Cichero (Venezuelan national team) and Dane Richard (Jamaican national team). Real Salt Lake will be without Andy Williams tonight, but will have all the rest of its key players available.

I will be providing a running commentary throughout the evening so feel free to follow along here. If you will be watching the match tonight (10pm, ESPN2), please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match (lineups after the jump):

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FINAL– Thanks to all of you for following along. I will be writing a column on tonight’s stadium opening for ESPN.com tomorrow so keep an eye out for that in the morning. For now, feel free to share your thoughts on tonight’s match in the comments section below.

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FINAL- Real Salt Lake didn’t win the match tonight, but tonight is still a victorious evening for a club that has reached a landmark moment in its history with the opening of Rio Tinto Stadium.

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FINAL– Red Bulls 1, Real Salt Lake 1. The Red Bulls needed a win tonight, but a draw just might do for now considering the way some other teams are playing. The pressure will really be on in the final two weeks, against MLS-leading Columbus and the Chicago Fire.

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94th minute– For those of you wondering about the Van Den Bergh sub, remember that he was making just his first start since having sports hernia surgery, so 90 minutes was a lot.

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94th minute– Andrew Boyens playing an unskilled and white version of Patrick Viera in defensive midfield right now.

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91st minute– Boyens in for Van Den Bergh.

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90th minute– Stammler clears a Wingert shot off the line with a header. Boyens coming into the match.

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88th minute– The Red Bulls will be happy with a tie at this point, down a man on the road. Can they hold on?

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86th minute– Mathis left the match and is receiving treatment to his head. Now whether his head was low when Pietravallo struck him is the question.

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85th minute– Dema Kovalenko is set to come into the match. I really don’t know about that red card call. Mathis definitely sold that one.

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83rd minute- Red card to Juan Pietravallo

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81st minute– RSL needs to do better with its free kicks and corner kicks. The home team is wasting chances.

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79th minute– Jimenez with a yellow card and could have gotten a second one for the dirty salute to the ref.

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78th minute– Sassano is coming in for Kandji.

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77th minute– With Stammler carrying a yellow, I think we will see him come out.

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76th minute– Luke Sassano coming in.

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74th minute– Angel with a two-footed lunge that probably deserved a card but went unpunished.

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72nd minute– Magee left the match with a right Achilles bruise.

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68th minute– Red Bulls need more possession. Luckily for them, RSL isn’t stringing passes together and looks a bit lost.

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66th minute– Ubiparipovic in for Magee. Red Bulls need some control in the middle of the field.

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65th minute– We are going to see Sinisa Ubiparipovic.

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63rd minute– I think we will see Matt Mbuta soon. Normally I would say put him in for Magee, but Stammler has been suspect tonight and Magee has been very active.

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61st minute– Magee came close on a great pass from Van Den Bergh but couldn’t finish. Such a good chance wasted.

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56th minute– RSL with a gift corner but Angel makes his second corner clearance in a row.

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55th minute– RSL corner after a beautiful sequence.

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51st minute– Mathis with a nice run but Parke stands his ground against Movsisyan.

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49th minute– Stammler with the Kick to Nowhere.

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48th minute– The Findley-Movsisyan forward tandem gave the Red Bulls fits a few weeks ago. They will cause problems tonight as well with their speed.

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46th minute– RSL with an early corner but the Red Bulls handle it.

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46th minute– Robbie Findley is in the match. Robbie Russell has left the match.

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HALFTIME– How’s this for a special feel at the game. RSL starters are throwing and kicking souvenir balls into the stands just before halftime.

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HALFTIME– Someone just proposed on the field during halftime. She said yes.

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HALFTIME– The Red Bulls have to feel sick giving up a goal and the lead just before halftime. Here are some positives:

Dave Van Den Bergh, Diego Jimenez and Macoumba Kandji have played well tonight. Seth Stammler and Chris Leitch have struggled. Jon Conway came up big on an early sequence but looked bad on the equalizer. He’s still looking timid on crosses into the area. Angel is getting smothered.

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HALFTIME– Seth Stammler looked like he wsa taken down at the end of the first half but there was no call. I need to see that replay because either he was taken down or a gopher came out of the ground and tripped him.

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43rd minute– RSL looking good right now and the Red Bulls are praying for the clock to run out on the half.

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42nd minute- GOAL RSL!!!! And it’s Jamison Olave with the header on a RSL corner kick. Red Bulls 1, RSL 1.

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39th minute– Nat Borchers has done a good job of staying on Juan Pablo Angel tonight. With Magee floating in midfield, Jamison Olave is practically playing as a sweeper.

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38th minute– Stammler has settled down after a poor first 20 minutes or so. He and Pietravallo are doing well to force RSL to go wide.

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36th minute– Kandji is much more involved now and RSL is definitely paying attention to him defensively. He looks like he has a goal in him tonight.

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35th minute– Red Bulls playing with more confidence and RSL looks a bit shocked to be trailing right now.

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33rd minute– RSL nearly catches the Red Bulls on the counter but Conway gets big and the Red Bulls defense cleans up the mess. VERY lucky there.

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31st minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!! Dave Van Den Bergh with a blast after a header by Stammler is cleared off the line. Red Bulls 1, RSL 0.

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30th minute– SAVE RSL!!! Rimando stops a Magee header that was goal bound.

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29th minute– The Red Bulls look awful defensively after every free kick. They’re open to the quick counter, just like last week against TFC.

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27th minute– Great sequence from the Red Bulls to earn a corner.

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26th minute– You can see Kandji working to get more involved in the action. He has shown more in the past few minutes, but still doesn’t have a chance on goal.

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24th minute– Leitch draws a yellow card for contact with Morales. Not sure about that call, I would need to see a replay. These yellows are going to cost the Red Bulls.

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21st minute– The Red Bulls wanted to avoid any early mistakes and have done so thus far. Now they are in the attack, with a second corner kick in a row.

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20th minute– Jimenez looks comfortable so far in central defense. The way Gabriel Cichero had been going, he probably would have surrendered two goals by now.

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19th minute– Nothing from Kandji yet. He needs to find the ball and start making an impact.

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17th minute– Stammler with a shaky match so far.

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15th minute– Pietravallo and Mathis have a little clash and Mathis tries to offer his hand but Pietravallo will have none of it.

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8th minute– Morales misses just wide and Conway would have had no chance if that were on frame. Red Bulls need to withstand this early onslaught in order to have any chance in this game.

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6th minute– Stammler with a silly yellow card for grabbing a jersey. Now he has a yellow and RSL has a dangerous free kick.

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3rd minute– Kandji making his first start tonight. Will Will Johnson handle the defensive responsibility? If not, Ian Joy could get exposed.

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2nd minute– RSL kick on the right flank.

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1st minute– We are under way

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PRE-GAME– Shrewd move by Jason Kreis to stick Robbie Russell on the right wing to deal with Dave Van Den Bergh. Very interesting tactical decision.

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PRE-GAME– The stadium is packed and the crowd is electric. This is going to be a special night.

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PRE-GAME– The stadium is filling in nicely as we near kickoff. It’s a clear and chilly night. The stadium DJ is doing some nice work, with Paper Planes and Swagger Like Us among the selections.

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PRE-GAME– Here are the benches:

Red Bulls- Cepero, Boyens, Mbuta, Roth, Sassano, Ubiparipovic, Wolyniec

RSL- Seitz, Beltran, Cutler, Deuchar, Findley, Horst, Kovalenko

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PRE-GAME– For those of you wondering, Dema Kovalenko is on the bench. I will keep an eye out to see of he tries to put a Ronnie O’Brien on Juan Carlos Osorio on the sidelines.

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PRE-GAME– correction on the RSL lineup. Robbie Russell is in the lineup and Robbie Findley is on the bench, which pushes Mathis up front. Interesting move.

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PRE-GAME– Real Salt Lake gave the Red Bulls serious trouble with its speed up front the last time these teams met and would have won if not for all the missed chances. Look for Will Johnson to go at Chris Leitch, who will need to stay at home with Kandji most attacking.

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PRE-GAME– The Red Bulls will look to send Kandji at people on the right flank, with Stammler also looking to attack more. Don’t expect the Red Bulls to sit back and defend early on.

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PRE-GAME– Here are the lineups:

RED BULLS

——————-Angel———-Magee—————–

————————-Stammler———————–

Van Den Bergh———————————–Kandji

————————–Pietravallo———————

Goldthwaite—-Jimenez——Parke————Leitch

—————————Conway————————

REAL SALT LAKE

—————Movsisyan——Mathis——————

————————–Morales————————–

———Johnson—————————-Russell—–

————————-Beckerman———————-

Joy———-Olave——————–Borchers—-Wingert

————————–Rimando—————————