A Hard Fought Win Over DC
Real Salt Lake earned a hard fought three points Saturday night when the side defeated DC United 1-0.
The match started fairly even with both sides having opportunities, but neither managed to convert in the first half.
Will Johnson finally broke through at the start of the second half to give Salt Lake a lead that the side would not relinquish.
The match got underway as normal but was quickly halted in the 4th minute due to a lightning strike near the stadium. Play resumed after over an 84 minute delay.
The first good opportunity for either side came in the 10th minute when Salt Lake’s Paulo Jr. drove forward an fired from distance. The shot was deflected over the bar by Bill Hamid.
DC responded in the 11th minute when a side switching ball found Chris Pontius alone going into the box. While Tony Beltran was able to get in front of him, Pontius still got a strong shot away from inside the six that flew just beyond the far post.
Dwayne De Rosario made his presence felt in the 28th minute when, on a break after a Salt Lake free kick, DC’s captain got an open shot and launched it from distance. It beat a diving Nick Rimando, caught the inside of the post, and bounced safely across the goal before Salt Lake took possession.
While a few other opportunities presented themselves for both sides in the first half, neither was able to convert.
Salt Lake came out aggressive to start the second half and it paid off in the 49th minute when a cross from Paulo Jr. was deflected into the air by Brandon McDonald. Johnson beat Hamid to it, heading the ball into the back of the net.
Lionard Pajoy nearly evened things up in the 54th minute when he drove into the six yard box with only Nick Rimando to beat. Salt Lake’s goalkeeper made a sliding save to force a corner and the danger was eventually averted.
Salt Lake had a goal disallowed in the 61st minute when Kwame Watson-Siriboe handled a free kick before putting it into the back of the net. The crowd didn’t like the call, but it was confirmed to be correct on replay.
Alvaro Saborio nearly gave Salt Lake a second goal when he took a pass from Espindola to the six yard box and took a sliding shot that was deflected wide by Hamid in the 82nd minute.
Salt Lake held on to earn three points over the visitors from our nation’s capital.
Category: Game Review
