America First Field, Sandy, UT – Real Salt Lake puts in a dominant 2nd half performance and a punishing loss for Atlanta United. Things started off quickly with Matt Crooks in the 1st minute but the rest of the half was all Atlanta. Lobjanidze took advantage of the low energy Claret and Cobalt to level the score in the 31st minute. The second half was all RSL all the time adding goals from Braian Ojeda, Chicho, Alex Katranis and Diego Luna. The loan second half goal from Daniel Rios was all that Atlanta could muster in response to the onslaught.
It didn’t take long for Crooks to get his second MLS goal when he snuck one past Brad Guzan in the first minute of play. RSL kept up the energy for the first 10 minutes but then it felt like Atlanta held the advantage for the rest of the half. The constant pressure from Atlanta came to a head in the 31st minute with the equalizer from Sava Lobjanidze and the home club was unable to respond before they hit the locker room at the break.
Everything Real wasn’t able to do in the first half seemed to come easy in the second. Braian Ojeda put his club on top in the 59th minute and they never looked back. Chicho added his 17th goal of the season in the 69th minute with what ended up being the game winner but that didn’t stop Alex Katranis from adding to the lead in the 78th minute and Diego Luna put the exclamation point on the effort in the 84th minute to give us the final 5-2 tally.
With tonight’s win RSL stays on top of the table in the West where they are tied with LAFC for first place. Chicho Arranto added another goal in this years Golden Boot campaign bringing his total to 17 this season. The Claret and Cobalt are trailing Miami in the total goal count for the season, tonights haul brings their total to 48 against the 51 goals Miami has scored and the home club has a game in hand to close that gap.
Next up for RSL is a trip to Providence Park and the waiting Portland Timbers on Saturday, July 13.
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 4 5
Atlanta United FC 1 1 2
Scoring Summary
RSL – Matt Crooks – 1′
ATL – Sava Lobjanidze – 31′
RSL – Braian Ojeda – 59′
RSL – Chicho – 68′
RSL – Alexandros Katranis – 78′
ATL – Daniel Rios – 80′
RSL – Diego Luna – 84′
Misconduct Summary
RSL – Diego Luna – 57′ – foul
ATL – Derrick Williams – 67′ – foul
ATL – Jay Fortune – 89′ – foul
Officials
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Assistant Referee: Justin Howard
Assistant Referee: Meghan Mullen
4th Official: Malik Badawi
Video Assistant Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
AVAR: Craig Lowry
Lineups
Real Salt Lake: Gavin Beavers; Philip Quinton (Andrew Brody, 46′); Bode Hidalgo; Brayan Vera (Bryan Oviedo, 67′); Alexandros Katranis; Emeka Eneli (Nelson Palacio, 46′); Braian Ojeda; Deigo Luna; Matt Crooks (Anderson Julio, 67′); Andres Gomez (Maikel Chang, 79′); Chicho
Substitutes Not Used: Zac MacMath; Noel Caliskan; Zavier Gozo; Tommy Silva
Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni
Atlanta United FC: Brad Guzan; Ronald Hernandez (Matthew Edwards, 89′); Derrick Williams; Brooks Lennon; Noah Cobb; Caleb Wiley; Bartosz Slisz (Luke Brennan, 90′); Saba Lobjanidze (Jay Fortune, 69′); Dax McCarty (Tristan Muyumba, 60′); Xande Silva (Tyler Wolff, 60′); Daniel Rios
Substitutes Not Used: Luis Abram; Efrain Morales; Josh Cohen; Nicolas Firmino
Head Coach: Robert Valentino