The first spot in the Western Conference final will be clinched tonight when Real Salt Lake faced off against FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium tonight (10pm, Fox Soccer Channel).
RSL will be looking to erase a 2-1 deficit from the first leg, with FC Dallas coming in confident after Eric Avila's late goal at Pizza Hut Park.
Both teams will be missing key players, with Javier Morales suspended for Real Salt Lake and suspended Atiba Harris and injured Heath Pearce and Milton Rodriguez missing for FC Dallas. RSL did get some good news with Alvaro Saborio, who is healthy enough to start.
I will be providing commentary on tonight's match throughout the night so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Tonight's commentary is after the jump):
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FINAL– That's all for me tonight. Thanks for following along and please feel free to share your post-game thoughts on tonight's match in the comments section below.
Good night.
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FINAL– Several key performances tonight for Dallas. David Ferreira was all over the field and George John was crucial to helping Dallas withstand the RSL onslaught. Man of the Match has to go to Hartman though.
RSL gave a brave effort, but wasted too many chances and ended up being punished for giving up an early goal.
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FINAL– It's ALL OVER. FC Dallas WINS THE SERIES!!! FC Dallas 1, Real Salt Lake 1. And FC Dallas takes the series, 3-2, on aggregate. A well-deserved win and WHAT A GAME from Kevin Hartman tonight. Clutch performance.
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94th Minute– Wow, what a clearance by Ihemelu to clear a dangerous cross.
Jair Benitez is down after clashing heads with Olave.
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93rd Minute– Two minutes to go. RSL has two minutes to find one more goal. Dramatic end to this one.
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91st Minute– SAVE HARTMAN!!! Stops a Williams blast. WOW.
And George John with a vital header away.
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91st Minute– Four minutes of stoppage time.
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90th Minute– SAVE RIMANDO, stops a Luna breakaway, and here comes RSL again. Some great back-and-forth action.
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89th Minute– WOW, what a dangerous cross from Warner, but nobody can get a head onto it. RSL with a corner.
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88th Minute– Findley with a header wide of goal. Another decent look for RSL.
Eric Alexander preparing to come in for FC Dallas.
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86th Minute– Four minutes plus stoppage left for RSL. Do they have another goal in them?
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84th Minute– Loyd got a yellow for time wasting.
Dallas tries to compose itself after a heavy RSL onslaught.
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83rd Minute– This game is wide-open right now and Dallas is holding on for dear life. RSL's subs have made an instant impact for Jason Kreis. The RSL attack looks completely different.
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82nd Minute– Williams has stepped his game to a new level tonight. He has that look right now.
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81st Minute– We've got a game now. Should be an amazing last ten minutes. Also, keep an eye on Hartman, who looks hobbled.
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80th Minute- GOAL REAL SALT LAKE!!! And it's Robbie Findley with the finish. We're tied and Dallas' leads 3-2 on the series.
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79th Minute– Warner draws a free kick in a dangerous spot on the left wing and Hartman is hobbled. He doesn't look fully healthy, favoring his knee.
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77th Minute– SAVE HARTMAN!! Stops a Warner shot from close range after a sweet give-and-go.
Ruben Luna replaces Cunningham
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75th Minute– FINDLEY HEADS IT HIGH!! He could have done better than that, but he's not exactly known for his heading ability.
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74th Minute– Borchers with a header in front of goal, but can't put in on net. Another chance.
SAVE HARTMAN, punches away a Johnson shot. Great night from Hartman.
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73rd Minute– Another RSL corner can't produce a real chance. They can't keep wasting those.
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71st Minute– Paulo Araujo is preparing to come in for RSL. He's quick and shifty. Makes things happen. Good late sub. He comes in for an ineffective Ned Grabavoy.
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70th Minute– SAVE RIMANDO, stops a Cunningham shot after a mazy dribble. Dallas with a dangerous counter as RSL throws the kitchen sink at Dallas' D.
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69th Minute– RSL with good energy, but passing is still lacking. Grabavoy not having a good night.
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67th Minute– Findley comes in for Saborio instead of Espindola.
RSL is on the attack.
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64th Minute– Nice header by Ihemelu to clear a dangerous cross in.
And just as I mention Findley, he comes in for Espindola. Or is about to at some point.
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63rd Minute– Pretty telling when Robbie Findley can't get into a game his team needs two goals in and barely-used rookie gets the call. Not saying it's the wrong move, just a harsh reality for Findley.
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60th Minute– Zach Loyd ready to come in for Dallas. He enters for Marvin Chavez. Loyd at right back, with Jackson at right wing.
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58th Minute– Collen Warner coming in for Robbie Russell, totally attack-minded move. Warner is a dangerous midfielder. Will be interesting to see if Dallas can test three-man RSL back-line.
Warner gives a dynamic option in midfield for RSL.
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56th Minute– Another nice long pass from Williams that finds Johnson, but he can't settle it.
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55th Minute– You have to wonder when Kreis puts in Findley and/or Araujo to give the attack some extra speed. RSL doing much better, but forwards are lacking.
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52nd Minute– Much better passing from RSL now, Midfield playing with more purpose now. RSL needs Williams to create.
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51st Minute– RSL is on the front foot and really pressing hard. Dallas looks a bit shaken. Can RSL find a goal soon? They need one ASAP if this is going to be a game.
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49th Minute– SAVE HARTMAN!!!! Wow, what a kick save after a BEAUTIFUL pass from Williams to Espindola. WOW.
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47th Minute– Okay, it's Saturday night, we might need a drinking game.
A drink for every Jeff Cunningham miss, Dallas corner kick, RSL turnover and every time Chris Sullivan says fantastic. Yes, it's that kind of party.
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46th Minute– We're back. Can RSL put pressure on early?
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HALFTIME– If you are following the commentary tonight, please let me know and tell us where you're following from.
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HALFTIME– RSL will have to think about inserting Robbie Findley into this match at halftime. Either Grabavoy or Williams has to go because RSL just hasn't been dynamic enough.
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HALFTIME– FC Dallas 1, Real Salt Lake 0. RSL has had possession but FC Dallas has been much more dangerous and hold a deserving two-goal cushion in the series. RSL doesn't look like a good bet to erase that lead, but Jason Kreis still has 45 minutes to work with. He'll need to make some changes ASAP.
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46th Minute– WOW, Johnson misses JUST WIDE. That was the chance RSL needed.
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45th Minute– Chavez JUST WIDE!! Wow, RSL almost got torched on the counter and it was nearly 3-0 for the series.
Two minutes of stoppage time.
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44th Minute– All credit to Dallas, troubling RSL all over the field with its speed.
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42nd Minute– RSL needs a goal before halftime and right now it doesn't look good.
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40th Minute– ESPINDOLA HIGH!!! Hartman saves Grabavoy blast and Espindola streaks in for a header, but sends it just over.
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37th Minute– Better from RSL, with a pair of corner kicks as they try to pressure Dallas. Can't put a chance on goal though, still haven't tested Hartman tonight.
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36th Minute– Beckerman needs to get more involved in the attack and sending some good passes from deep. Right now Williams and Grabavoy aren't getting it done.
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34th Minute– Down two goals, RSL is definitely missing Javier Morales right now.
Borchers draws a yellow card for a foul on Cunningham.
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32nd Minute– Dallas is just flat out-working Real Salt Lake. The visitors look like the tougher team right now, with RSL starting to look a bit frazzled.
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31st Minute– Cunningham sails a free header wide. WHAT a look for him, but he couldn't put it on frame.
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30th Minute– Ferreira's free kick is headed away by Saborio for a corner kick.
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29th Minute– Shea gets behind the defense and draws a foul from Grabavoy, earning a free kick in the arc. Grabavoy gets the yellow card.
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28th Minute– Chavez fouls Beltran to get his own yellow card.
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26th Minute– Rimando gets lucky to get a hold on a spilled free kick from Ferreira.
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25th Minute– Jamison Olave draws a yellow after fouling Chavez. His speed forced Olave to block him.
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23rd Minute– RSL doesn't do well when trailing, and now the champions have two goals to make up. Conversely, FC Dallas is brutally tough to beat when holding an early lead.
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20th Minute– Looking back on the goal, RSL left a gaping hole in its defense when Beckerman and Borchers got sucked into marking Cunningham, leaving McCarty all alone to race into the area and make himself available for the Shea chest pass. That one is on Beckerman.
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18th Minute- GOAL DALLAS!!! And it's McCarty with the finish, off a great chest pass from Shea, started by Ferreira. Dallas 1, RSL 0, and Dallas is up two goals in the series. WOW.
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16th Minute– Espindola has been very active early, trying to work on Jackson on the left flank.
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12th Minute– RSL on the attack early on, but not really testing the Dallas D, at least nothing at Kevin Hartman yet.
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9th Minute– Slow start to the match, with neither team really forcing the issue early on.
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6th Minute– What's up with Schellas Hyndman's sideline wear? Is that a suede Member's Only jacket? Maybe it's his lucky jacket.
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4th Minute– Brek Shea goal waived off for offside. Wow, what a close call, but he was just offside. Cunningham nearly unlocks the RSL defense.
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2nd Minute– Chris Wingert is a late scratch for RSL with an injury. Will be interesting to see how Beltran does in such a big match.
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1st Minute– We're off
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PRE-GAME– We're about to kick off.
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PRE-GAME– Will the crowd at Rio Tinto be ready to put the pressure on the visitors? Perhaps more importantly, how will Dallas deal with the altitude?
It is pretty interesting just how young the Dallas bench is. Aside from Sala, the rest of the FCD bench players could make up a U-23 team. RSL has the edge coming off the bench.
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PRE-GAME– Here are the lineups:
REAL SALT LAKE
———-Espindola—–Saborio—————
Johnson———-Williams———-Grabavoy
——————-Beckerman—————–
Beltran—Borchers——Olave——-Russell
——————Rimando——————–
BENCH– Reynish, Wingert, Alexandre, Gonzalez, Warner, Araujo, Findley
FC DALLAS
—————–Cunningham—————–
Shea————-Ferreira————-Chavez
———-McCarty———Hernandez———-
Benitez—-Ihemelu—-John———-Jackson
——————-Hartman———————-
BENCH- Sala, Lloyd, Avila, Alexander, Guarda, Luna, Yeisley
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Lots of unforced errors. Worst game I’ve seen rsl play in a couple of years.
Subs really had an impact on the game. Findley had such a big impact because rsl never really got their midfield game going and so settled for dumping hopefull balls over the top. Neither saborio (who everyone could tell was not himself) nor espindola had the speed to get behind dallas defence. Findley did.
First time I’ve EVER seen RSLs defense tire out at home before the visitors did.
Sounders fans…
Sounders Fans… all bow down
Go Cougars!
and BYU won. Yuck!!
RSL’s first 65 minutes were horrid, the worst I have seen them play in a long time. RSL’s defenders were individually and collectively terrible, giving up the ball continuously, especially Russell. RSL’s midfield had no creativity. RSL unfortunately peaked too soon. They did not play well in their last 4 league games, although they managed to usually get a result. JK waited too long to make changes. Saborio was totally ineffective, probably from his injury, and should have been subbed at halftime. RSL gravely missed Javi in midfield to create and also to take corner kicks, since no other RSL player for some reason could do an effective one.
Credit goes to Dallas. They played a smart, excellently executed game of torrid counterattacks.
The crowd was flat for most of the game, probably as a result of watching the Utes play earlier and the team’s sluggish play through the first half.
For next year, I think RSL should upgrade at its wingbacks, find upgrades for Wingert and Russell and try to find another good attacking midfielder.
They had a great year, just peaked a month too soon.
St. Louis deserves a team, San Jose deserves a stadium. Dallas deserves none of it; send Dallas to St. Louis.
close to a penalty at the end from Lloyd…he’s lucky
very entertaining game…go MLS!!!
I see a lot of people on here making note of poor attendance figures for teams like Dallas, San Jose, etc. Well, perhaps when it comes to talk of expansion teams then, people will do less “case making” for cities who “deserve” teams and more for cities that will put “behinds in seats.” Just sayin…
Moving along to the match…I did not see the second half because it was a late game on the east coast, and I’m not a big follower of either team. However, SI.com framed this as a Dallas team that struggled to be in the game and was fortunate to hang on. I don’t know what game they were watching, but what I saw at least in the first half was a RSL team that rarely held possession and created only a few good opportunities on goal, which they blew. Dallas however, put a lot of good possession together and clearly dominated, again, at least in the first half. In particular, Cunningham, Shea, and McCarty looked very good.
I think that’s the only plus side to the loss. They can now concentrate on Champions League. I really think they can win it all to be honest.
The fans will come out alright. The problem is that there is approximately 9K of them in the Dallas metro area and 153 outside state lines.