Well, well, well! Those three points were not only vital, they were exciting to pick up! There were some absolutely brilliant moments, from Andy Williams scoring a goal — and Kevin Hartman looking awful — to Fabian Espindola and Jean Alexandre combining to end the match, to Chris Wingert pulling off the most remarkable clearance possible.
Yes, it was a match to remember, and it was one against the supposed heir apparent to the MLS Supporters’ Shield. You know, the team that came to the Rio Tinto and, until Andy Williams scored, were content to put 10 behind the ball and let the unusually bad Brek Shea try to win first-time headers and play in midfielders.
Thankfully, our central pairing worked out better than it did last time Olave and Schuler played together — that came unexpectedly, and I’m sure they prepared for today. They won most long balls that came their way, though Kevin Hartman could hardly place a ball in the first half. And the passing! Oh, the passing. Real Salt Lake? Dominant. FC Dallas? Their passing was miserable — we must have had more throw-ins than all season!
Now, there was something a bit odd going on — Tony Beltran, the man himself, seemed targeted by the FC Dallas system. Now, why exactly they chose Beltran, a very good player indeed, to target, I’m not quite sure. Tony was solid and strong, and he fought for every ball — but it’s very odd when you see three players running at him deep in the Dallas half. Really, it was bizarre. The marking was suspect, to say the least. Hyndman, I suspect, is out of his depth when paired up against Jason Kreis, one of the tactical masters of Major League Soccer.
But the fight we had in us, the absolute willingness to run for every ball, to chase and harry off the ball, and to make productive runs at all times — that’s what did it for us. No man exemplifies that more than Ned Grabavoy, subbed in the middle of the second half in what must be an effort to retain some energy for the Tuesday match against Dallas. And his combination with Will Johnson is getting such that dropping either of the two would be almost untenable. They play to each others strengths, and with Kyle Beckerman alongside them, the triangles we create simply tired FC Dallas.
Perhaps the only dark spot was a bit of naughty attitude from Alvaro Saborio, who was apparently unhappy to be subbed. Now, I know there is much discussion about his attitude, but I do think he needs a break from the negative guff for a few weeks. After a difficult Gold Cup run, a personal tragedy, and carrying a knock for probably months, he still came right back to training after internationals — earlier than expected — and he still works hard on the pitch. Perhaps he was just angry to be subbed, and I sympathize a bit, though I do think he reacted badly. But I’d always rather have a player who reacted badly than a player who didn’t mind being subbed off. Now, there’s certainly a happy medium, but do remember that strikers are infamously moody and a bit of a special breed. Further, Sabo’s saved our hides a few times recently, and I do think he deserves some credit for that.
Luis Gil was the brilliant player he’s turning into, giving us, I think, a preview of Luis Gil in five years. I doubt he’ll be with Real Salt Lake, but I can hope: He’s going to be a big one if he’s managed properly, and that’s hugely exciting. His vision, running, passing, off the ball movement — it’s all the stuff of legend. The U.S. does not always produce players of this calibre, so fans — cherish it.
So while certain others may be drooling over Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey, let’s take a glimpse at the future with our very own Luis Gil. If he can improve on his already very good play — and makes the right choice to stay at RSL — we’ll have a player that will not only help ease the loss of Javi in a few years (he’s not going to get any younger) but he could well surpass him as a creative attacking midfielder. I know I’m being a bit effusive about the lad, but this, I think, is the type of player you build a system around.
But let’s not get caught up in the effusive guff, because there are players here and now that are very, very good, and easily among the best in their positions in the league. We’ve got Will Johnson clicking everything together, serving up passes and tackling well. We’ve got Fabian Espindola, chasing everything he sees, spiky as ever and a real fighter to boot. We’ve got Kyle Beckerman, who can spot a long pass from a mile away, who leads the team by example, and who will tackle everyone who gets in his way. We’ve got Jamison Olave, a dominating centerback who can play the ball. And alongside him, we’ve got Nat Borchers, a great communicator and a good reader of play. At the back, we’ve got our rock, our goalkeeping mastermind, Nick Rimando. And that doesn’t even get to some of our less “key” players — Ned Grabavoy, Tony Beltran, Robbie Russell, Chris Wingert, Andy Williams, Chris Schuler — all of whom would deserve a spot at any club in this league.
No, we may not be in the biggest city, and we may not have the flashy stadium Philadelphia has (the Rio Tinto is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but we’re not waterfront overlooking a bridge), and we may not have the money to sign aging European stars (I love Thierry Henry, too, don’t get me wrong about that, either) — but we have fight, spirit, and a tactical genius at the helm, leading this club to victory.
And finally, we have been showing that again, we’ve shaken off the cobwebs, and we’ve returned to our domineering ways. The seasonal depression has been kicked to the curb, and we’re starting to be the club we all know we can be.
A Saturday night match against FC Dallas, not one of the flashy clubs in the league, might not be the most prestigious, but we had nearly 18,000 in attendance in a market a fraction of the size of New York or Los Angeles. We may not have many songs, and we may not always be the smartest fans, but we’re a dedicated lot. The fans deserve a title, Jason Kreis deserves a title, and this team deserve a title. Let’s go get it.
Come on you Claret and Cobalt!
Men of the Match: Chris Wingert for the game-saving clearance, Fabian Espindola for his game-sealing goal, and Luis Gil for showing great potential to go with his already great skill.
(It's my blog, and I can have three men of the match should I please. Shh.)
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