America First Field, Sandy, UT – Real Salt Lake just couldn’t find an answer as they fall in a heart-breaker against FC Cincinnati. It was an amazing night for soccer at America First Field and we were treated to a F-35 flyover before the match as we celebrated our armed forces. The Claret and Cobalt have were aggressive from the first whistle and there were plenty of chances but neither club found the net in the first half. It was late in the match before the affair was decided and that was off of Cincinnati goal from Luca Orellano in the 87th minute. Even with a late surge there was not enough to overcome the stalwart defense put up by the visitors and RSL falls for the first time since May.

Real Salt Lake came into the match tonight a surge of positive play where they have captured 13 of a possible 15 points in the months of June and July and there was a hope to keep the streak going against a Cincinnati club that sits in 2nd place in the East. RSL started the match with offensive pressure we have become accustomed to as of late and it created a number of chances in the half but the ball just couldn’t find the foot of anyone with a clear shot at the net. Cincinnati FC was also up for the task as they also pressured the ball but both clubs had the defense to stand up to the driving offense. There were a spat of yellow cards in the half with a total of 5 shown including one being shown to Alex Katranis in the 31st minute that means he will miss the next RSL match.

Sam Junqua entered the match at the half for Alex Katranis and no changes on the opposing side. The chances kept coming for RSL and they seemed to have a bead on a the goal a number of times but the squad kept having trouble finding the last touch. Cincinnati struck in the 87th minute with a shot into the net from Luca Orellano to put his club. Late in the match Diego Luna tried a bicycle kick that fell right in the arms of Roman Celentano. The entire match for RSL fell on their final corner kick in the 90’+4′ but even with Cabral coming up it wasn’t enough even with one final surge toward the goal. It really felt like the home club would be able to pull even tonight and it is a tough loss to swallow given the level of effort with everyone leaving it all on the pitch.

After the flurry of yellow cards in the first half referee Lorenzo Hernandez let both clubs play and there was a lot of rough play from both squads. Only 1 yellow was show in the latter 45′ of play with that shown to DeAndre Yedlin in the 42′ minute. It did seem like things were close to getting out of hand before the half and both clubs had a chance to cool off before returning to the pitch. These clubs seemed very well matched through the entire evening and RSL showed that they can stand toe to toe with the best in the League. If this quality of play keeps up the squad has a good chance of moving up the bracket during the remainder of the regular season.

With his yellow card shown tonight for Alex Katranis he will be ineligible for the next match. We continue to see good form from the core RSL squad with a solid night from Diogo Goncalves and Noel Caliskan. Johnny Russell was subbed on late and made his presence known in the waning moments of the match with a couple of great crosses but Cincinnati stuffed the box and kept the attackers at bay. Zavier Gozo has been showing great form and it shows with his extended time on the pitch going the full 90 minutes in 10 out of the last 15 matches. RSL returns to the pitch Saturday, July 26th when San Jose visits the RioT.

Goals by Period         1  2  F
Real Salt Lake               0  0  0
FC Cincinnati                 0  1  1

Scoring Summary
CIN – Luca Orellano – 87′

Misconduct Summary
CIN – Corey Baird – 16′ – foul
CIN – Teenage Hedebe – 27′ – foul
RSL – Alex Katranis – 31′ – foul
RSL – Brayan Vera – 39′ – foul
CIN – Gilberto Flores – 42′ – foul
CIN – DeAndre Yedlin – 73′ – foul

Officials
Referee: Lorenzo Hernandez
Assistant Referee: Cameron Blanchard
Assistant Referee: Justin Howard
4th Official: Atahan Yaya
Video Assistant Referee: Michael Radchuk
AVAR: Kevin Lock

Attendence: 19,836

Lineups

Real Salt Lake: Rafael Cabral; Brayan Vera; Justen Glad; Noel Caliskan; Alex Katranis (Sam Junqua, HT); Braian Ojeda; Pablo Ruiz (Emeka Eneli, 62′); Diego Luna; Diogo Goncalves; Ariath Piol (William Agada, 62′); Zavier Gozo (Johnny Russell, 71′)

Substitutes Not Used: Dominik Marczuk; Philip Quinton; Mason Stajduhar; Jesus Barea

Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni

Cincinnati FC: Roman Celentano; Alvas Powell (DeAndre Yedlin, 63′); Gilberto Flores; Miles Robinson; Teenage Hadebe (Sergio Santos, 74′); Lukas Engel (Matt Miazga, 85′); Evander; Pavel Bucha; Brian Anunga; Corey Baird (Kei Kamara, 63′); Gerardo Valenzuela (Luca Oreliano, 63′)

Substitutes Not Used: Evan Louro; Brad Smith; Stefan Chirila; Kenji Mboma Dem

Head Coach: Pat Noonan

Tags: Cincinnati, Cincinnati FC, Major League Soccer, MLS, Real Salt Lake, RSL, Soccer