RSL battles back from ill-begotten penalty to grab point at FC Dallas

It took him only a few minutes to score his first goal for Real Salt Lake. Emiliano Bonfigli, a 23-year-old Argentine with an unbelievable amount of pace, took the first chance he got and slotted it into the back of the net, rescuing a point to cap a three-game road trip.

One point from nine possible during the road trip will not shine kindly on Real Salt Lake, but the circumstances of the losses speak differently: First, a loss to the team with the best form in the league. Two, a loss after having two players sent off, one properly and one improperly. Three, a draw after conceding a penalty that was, at best, dubiously given.

It's always nice being able to make excuses, I suppose, and referees do sometimes prove the ultimate easy scapegoat — but no matter how easy it is, there are times it's actually accurate. I've discussed time and again the San Jose match, and it's time to put that one to bed. But last night, that penalty we conceded flared up the referee discussion again, and it's worth at least recapping the incident before moving on.

Tony Beltran, defending a long ball into the box, attempts to make a clearance, but he hits it right into Chris Schuler. The ball rebounds up, Tony slips a bit while trying to reach it, and the ball loops, with the apex of the arc just under his arm. On replay, it's a bit more obvious: Tony Beltran, it appears from the available angles, didn't hit the ball. The referee didn't hesitate to give his 9th penalty in his 11 league games, though, and just like that, we went into halftime down a goal. It is perhaps even more frustrating that there was no hint of a deliberate handball to it, even if it had hit his arm. It was harsh on the player and harsh on the team. I guess, though, we can count ourselves lucky that he wasn't sent off, what with our recent spell of luck.

Of course, there's more to the match than simply that dubious penalty and our rescued goal. We had a few chances to score, not least of which fell to Saborio's feet when he attempted to round the keeper but fluffed it ever so slightly — but make no mistake, the run to set himself up was quite good, and while Saborio may not have had the best match in an RSL kit, he still created two big scoring chances — even if he didn't put them away.

Will Johnson had perhaps the best game he's had since coming back from injury — a sign that he is starting to look back to his old self. It was always likely to take a bit of time after surgery and missing pre-season, so there is no place to blame him for his earlier form — which, don't get me wrong, was never bad but simply not up to his level. His passing was good — in 83 minutes, he completed 40/50 passes and two key passes, and displayed a healthy understanding of when to make an efficient back pass. But it was a single pass that sprung the defense that should make headlines: His pass was ruthlessly efficient, as he spotted Bonfigli's run at the perfect time. It was the sort of pass Will Johnson is readily capable of. It's a wonderful sign, I think, that he's returning to form. Oh, and he picked up a yellow card — for a slightly late (but never dangerous) tackle in typical Will Johnson style. Gotta love him.

In addition to the fine performance from Will Johnson, both Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales had excellent nights against Dallas. It is no coincidence that good performances from these three in the midfield contributed strongly to our limiting of FC Dallas — in chances and in passes. In fact, Dallas only attempted 299 passes — on average, we've conceded 404 attempted passes per game, so this is quite interesting. Of our 471 attempted passes, 378 were accurate, just above our average of 361 — and the most we've attempted since beating Portland in March. Beckerman and Morales completed about 30% of our passes — 54/64 and 59/69, respectively. Add Will Johnson in, and we're at 40% of our passes came from three players in the midfield.

All told, we were unlucky to concede when we did, but we battled and came away with a point against a team we've still never beaten on the road. We managed to avoid dropping three consecutive losses, and when it's all said and done, we've set ourselves up for a nice win at home against Toronto FC. Or, at least, that's what I'm hoping.

'Til tomorrow, when I'll undoubtedly have a lot more to say.

Today's photo comes from @cbirt12. Much thanks!