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Petke, RSL defeat Red Bulls on first half penalty

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Mike Petke and Real Salt Lake were able to right the ship after a poor showing in their home opener by defeating the New York Red Bulls at Rio Tinto Stadium.

It was Petke’s first match against his former club, and RSL came prepared. Compact defending, a big performance by Nick Rimando, and a bit of luck helped see the home side through by a score of 1-0.

Coming off a 5-1 defeat to LAFC in Week Two, RSL was in dire need of erasing the poor performance with a solid win st home, and they delivered.

The Red Bulls gifted an early penalty kick to RSL thanks to Carlos Rivas dragging David Horst to the ground during a free kick in the box. Albert Rusnak stepped up and made Luis Robles guess the wrong way to open the scoring in the fourth minute. The foul was not immediately called a penalty, but awarded upon video review from Ted Unkel.

The Red Bulls settled down following the goal and began to control possession but struggled with the final pass. When they did break through the back line, Nick Rimando was there to keep the ball out of the net with some athletic saves, despite carrying a slight knock.

RSL slowed the game down by keeping the match physical, conceding possession, and taking their time through all dead ball situations. The home side could remain patient with the lead and pick their spots on the counter against a Red Bull side particularly prone to getting caught up field.

Petke downplayed the emotional impact of the match heading into the weekend, but surely the feeling of beating the team that fired him in 2015 was a fitting reward for the former defender.

RSL (1-1-1) will get a week off and a chance to reflect on their early season results before heading to Ontario to take on the struggling a Toronto FC (0-2-0) on March 30.

The Red Bulls (1-1-0) don’t get the week off and will return to Red Bull Arena to take on Minnesota United FC (2-1-0) next Saturday.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Nick Rimando kept the Red Bulls at bay when the visitors started to climb back into the match. He was carrying a knock, but still remained spry.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Rimando’s diving stop on Vincent Besecourt’s volley seemed to inspire the RSL defense and renew their efforts.

MATCH TO FORGET

Carlos Rivas never looked up for the match and was a step off with the rest of the Red Bulls all night. Add in the penalty conceded within the first five minutes of the match and you’ve got yourself a game that you won’t want to watch again.

Comments

  1. “Petke downplayed the emotional impact of the match heading into the weekend, but surely the feeling of beating the team that fired him in 2015 was a fitting reward for the former defender.”
    yeah, there are some things money just can’t buy

    Reply

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