To start off, lets go all the way back to the RSL v San Jose match on July 23rd.
You stay classy, Busch.In a match that was, if nothing else, full of entertainment RSL destroyed a 10 man San Jose Earthquakes 4-0. Until the 60th minute, though, it looked as though a draw was on the horizon. San Jose has historically played rather well at the RioT and they looked to be continuing the trend that night through some disruptive midfield play and strong defending. All came crashing down, though, in the 60th minute when Saborio went down in the box for RSL. In live action, I thought it was a foul. My seats are very similar to the angle the ref had, so it's obvious to me how he was deceived. Video replay shows, though, that Sabo went down without any contact. This resulted in a penalty, a sending off, and the games first goal.
From there, San Jose lost their cool. Busch showed his grand sportsmanship (both during and after the game) and RSL tapped in 3 more to finish off a very lopsided night 4-0. Had I been on the other side for this game, I would feel a bit robbed. However, giving up 3 goals in 30 minutes, even if you are a man down, is simply inexcusable. While the decisive moment may have lead to a bit of frustration and lack of concentration, it seemed inevitable that RSL would score and open the game up. It wasn't an unfair result by the scoreline, per say, but rather in the means it was achieved.
Man of the Match: Alvaro Saborio
Scoring 2 goals and having a pretty damn good night gave the Tico the honors. Sadly...Wanker of the Match: Alvaro Saborio
His antics to get the penalty were poor. This may be the one and only time someone gets both man of the match and wanker of the match for the same game. Impressive? Probably not.RSL v Columbus
Coming into this match RSL was in a bit of a weird place. They had just won 4-0, sure, but at the same time they lost Jamison Olave to a knee injury at the All-Star Game (of all places) and were informed that Alvaro Saborio would not be able to play because the league was suspending him for his dive against San Jose. Thus, RSL came into this match a bit confused; it was apparent. In the first 10 minutes, Columbus exposed this confusion to the fullest. From the opening whistle, it was obvious which team was more focused on the task at hand. By the 5th minute, Columbus had exposed our lack of wing play/defending and Robbie Russell's poor positioning to find the net. Just 5 minutes later, they pretty much did the same thing again.From the 15th minute on, RSL was the better of the two sides. However, they never looked overly dangerous. Jean Alexandre had a couple chances to find the net (some of them sitters) yet it just didn't seem to be RSL's day. Columbus came in to the RioT, had a wonderful game plan, and executed it to near perfection. Maybe it was a bit of justice for the previous weeks debacle, but it still sucked. RSL looked to have lost all the momentum they were starting to build up in a matter of minutes.
Man of the Match: Tommy Heinemann
The goofy looking striker gave the RSL defense fits all night and earned the second goal for the Crew. Almost every attack the Crew built went through Tommy. He probably has one of the ugliest mugs I've ever seen, but the guy sure could play up top against us.Wanker of the Match: Jean Alexandre
There were, sadly, quite a few RSL players in contention for this award. Jean missed two sitters and probably should have found his way onto one or two others and thus takes the ship. However, Robbie Russell, Ned Grabavoy, and Will Johnson were right on his heels for wanker of the match. It was a really ugly night for RSL with quite a few guys having possibly their worst nights in an RSL uniform.Is there reason to be concerned after this match? Probably. I think we are still perfectly fine in terms of making the playoffs and having a decent team. However, I can't help but feel this might have been a key moment/game in us not being in the Supporters Shield chase come seasons end. While we still have quite a few games in hand, they don't mean much if we can't get points out of them. Especially at the RioT. There are 15 remaining games for the 2011 season, tons of points still available. The problem, though, is that 10 of those 15 are on the road. And its not like we are travelling to bottom feeders the entire time. We have road trips to NY, LA, Seattle, and Colorado in there. If we are going to win the SS, we are sure going to earn it here at the end of the season.
RSL @ Sporting Kansas City: Preview
RSL travels to brand new Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City tomorrow for a match against the re-branded Wizards. KC started the season pretty slow, no thanks to 10 road games right away, but have since found their form; especially in their new stadium. In fact, they have yet to lose in the new place.Given the small amount of rest, Olave not even traveling, the potential of Espindola being suspended, and the current form of RSL, and most importantly this game being on the road... I'm not to optimistic about this one. I think RSL is very capable of beating this team. You look at it, on paper, and its in RSL's favor. However, we haven't played anywhere near as well as we should be, according to paper, in quite some time.
This is the XI I hope to see for RSL:
GK: Nick Rimando
- Has to be big between the pipes. To get points here, he'll likely have to pull out a few incredible saves.
RB: Tony Beltran
- Russell had a horrible night against Columbus. Time for Tony to be put back in the starting lineup. This time permanently
CB: Nat Borchers
- He was one of a very few players to not have a bad night against the Crew. Nat is probably our most consistent player, so this shouldn't be much of a surprise
CB: Chris Schuler
- Had a pretty bad night, especially in the first 10 minutes, against Columbus but he is our best option. Hopefully that game was just a fluke, not a new norm.
LB: Chris Wingert
- He took responsibility for the goals, but I'm no so sure they were as much his fault as he made it out to be. Still, its nice to see a guy take the accountability.
CDM: Kyle Beckerman
- He has to step up his game. Plain and simple.
LM: Will Johnson
- Same as Beckerman. He tried to do too much against Columbus. Hopefully he can just relax this game and not force himself into the game as much.
RM: Ned Grabavoy
- He also had quite a howler against Columbus. Hopefully consistent Ned will be back for this one.
CAM: Andy Williams
- I wouldn't be surprised to see Collen Warner or Luis Gil slide in for Andy, but I think he is the best option to start.
FW: Fabian Espindola
- If he does receive a suspension (which is probably deserved) then Alvarez takes his spot. For RSL's sake, I hope Fabi is not suspended.
FW: Alvaro Saborio
- Suspension and dive are in the past. Time for the Tico to play some good footy again.
Key Player to Watch for RSL: Kyle Beckerman
With the struggles current and ahead for RSL, its key that the captain stand up and take charge. One of my biggest criticism's of Beckerman is that he does not do this. If we are going to make it through this stretch with a good record, it'll be because KB picked up his game and thus those around him as well. If he plays badly, this could be one ugly month for RSL.Prediction: RSL 1 - KC 2
- I think it's going to be a tight game that gets rather physical. I think they find the net late to get a win while we try to pack it in for a draw. Fortune Favors the Bold, lets hope Kreis sticks to that motto for this one.
For those of you that forgot or didn't hear, these two sides met in preseason play and had, to put it nicely, a bit of a physical match. Many players from RSL were quoted as saying they were circling the first time we played KC (which this game is) as a bit of a revenge match. Don't be surprised if the RSL players come out angry and playing a bit chippy. Given that history and how things are going lately, this one is a sitting time bomb.
Here is a link to the story from the preseason game: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsrsl/51391872-49/rsl-game-sporting-team.html.csp
It's sure to be an interesting night. I hope I'm wrong with my prediction and RSL uses this game to vent some frustration (both current and past) for the win.
FORZA REAL
Cheers,
15 to 32
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