Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX – Real Salt Lake opened up the the 2018 Major League Soccer Season in Frisco, Texas against a western conference foe, FC Dallas. With so many changes that came during the off-season it was exciting to see so many new faces in the starting XI. Damir Kreilach and Shawn Barry saw their first starts for their new club tonight in Dallas. The whole night saw both teams fighting hard with RSL the first to score, but late in the game Marcelo Silva scored an own goal that left us with the 1-1 result.
Dallas had plenty of chances in the first half of play where they had long runs of possession and lots of shots, but they just couldn’t keep the ball on frame, and when they were, Rimando and the defense came up big. Real Salt Lake struck first in the 25th minute with Albert Rusnak sending the ball into Joao Plata who made it past 2 defenders and then the goal keeper. The pressure kept up from both squads and they headed for the locker room with RSL 1 FC Dallas 0 at the half.
The chances for Dallas kept coming as we started the second 45 minutes of play. Rimando continued to do what he always does, come up with the big plays every time he is called on, but he couldn’t defend against an own goal by Marcelo Silva in the 86th minute to level the score at 1-1.
Both clubs showed us an exciting match and have a lot of great take-aways from the match to build on, as well as uncovered what may need a little work. With a lack of set plays for RSL, the opportunities to score were not as obvious as they were for Dallas, who have to figure out how to finish if they want to return to the form they showed us at the start of last season. With our first look at Damir Kreilach, there should be excitement about style and level of play he brings. With Luke Mulholland pushed out of the starting role just days before the match we should see healthy competition for the #10 spot. If the Claret and Cobalt can find the best way to use the talent they have assembled, we should see a reinvigorated club who are capable of great things this season.
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 0 1
FC Dallas 0 1 1
Scoring Summary:
RSL – Joao Plata – 25′
FCD – Marcelo Silva (own goal) – 86′
Misconduct Summary:
FCD – Jacori Hayes – 64′ – hard foul
FCD – Michael Barrios – 77′ – unsporting behavior
Officials
Referee: Robert Sibiga
Assistant Referee: Jason White
Assistant Referee: Eric Weisbrod
4th Official: Ted Unkel
Video Assistant Referee: Hilario Grajeda
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake: Nick Rimando; Demar Phillips (Danilo Acosta, 77′); Justen Glad; Marcelo Silva; Shawn Barry;
Albert Rusnak; Damir Kreilach (Sunny, 78′); Kyle Beckerman; Luis Silva; Joao Plata; Jefferson Savarino (David Horst, 82′)
Substitutes Not Used: Alex Horwath; Luke Mulholland; Alfredo Ortuno; Sebastian Saucedo
FC Dallas: Maximiliano Urruti; Jimmy Maurer; Reggie Cannon (Ryan Hollingshead, 79′); Matt Hedges; Reto Ziegler; Maynor Figuero; Jacori Hayes; Carlos Gruezo; Michael Barrios; Mauro Diaz (Roland Lamah, 68′); Santiago Mosquera (Cristian Colmab, 63′)
Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Zobeck; Kristoffer Reaves; Victor Ulloa; Tesho Akindele
Next up for RSL
Real Salt Lake host LAFC to Rio Tinto Stadium for the home opener Saturday, March 10th at 1:30 PM.