Are there going to be any reports of this game available? I'd like to see the squads both sides roll out and read any accounts of how it shakes up.
There was a report on the DC boards about their match with Columbus last week, and I imagine that there will be a similar report about today's match. So, if nothing else, keep an eye on the DC boards for an article (or at least some informal firsthand account). Is this RSL's first preseason match?
big soccer poster/DCU writer Diceson has reported that DC beat RSL today in a 90 minute scrimmage 5-1.
http://dcunited.mlsnet.com/MLS/news...ent_id=22048&vkey=news_dcu&fext=.jsp&team=dcu Luke Kreamalmeyer scored the lone goal for RSL after already being down 5-0 in the 2nd half.
Yes, I believe this was the first preseason match. I wouldn't worry too much about how they go results wise so much as how the team looks.
It sounds like our starters (minus Mathis, Pope and Rojas) lost 1-0 to DC United's starters (minus whoever they have away on USMNT duty) in the first half then both sides went to the bench in the second! So I would say it is not a bleak outcome... but it does show we still need some time to gel as a team. Not too shabby for the first match EVER!!!! It could have been worse! I am not disappointed by this at all!
Well I think Pope and Mathis are with the National Team still for RSL and Ben Olsen is still with the Nats as well, and Dema was out with an injured ankle.
1-0 to the defending champions when you are just beginning to play together as a unit is very good. You can't put too much weight on it, but I think some people would have expected 3 or 4 to zero for this matchup. I think it demonstrates the parity of US talent - that there are a lot of capable mid-level players (players who can play solidly in MLS). We just need to cultivate a few "dominators" - guys who can take over games in MLS... but that will come with time.
Here's a report from the RealSaltLake.org forum: http://www.realsaltlake.org/forums/showthread.php?t=368
I can't believe that we actually had a real MLS team from Salt Lake play an actual game (even if it didn't really mean anything). It won't be long now. Although it will probably seem like a really long time.
This really is about giving the team a chance to play together and learn what the competition will be like - it will be fun to see the team come together... They still expect another signing or two? (or are they waiting till mid-season to sign some more Sr. squad members?)
lol, they are talking ******** over there on the DC board. all about how we are going to be the whipping boys of the league. i wonder if they realize that we are missing a lot of our key players to nats. not to mention the fact that the team we do have has been playing together for what, a month to two months now at most.
That and the fact that it was really two different games. The first half was DCU against a depleted RSL squad and they won 1-0. The second half was a completely different match-up. Their subs and reserves against ours. They won 4-1. I think the first half was positive for RSL. The second half? Who cares. Let's get out first team going first and worry about the reserve team later.
I think I read a statement by Coach Ellinger that says they've only been playing together for a week actually. ?
holy crap, a week? thats hardly any time what so ever. you can barely learn about the guys in that time let alone gel as a team. i just cant wait till i can come home and see some games. i have been waiting for a mls team in utah for so long. 2 months and the season starts, 3 months and ill be home........it cant come soon enough.
Don't read much into the score line. Teams go into these games with different objectives. You're making too much of DCU being the champs ("hey, we played the champs 1-0 in the first half!") b/c the team has lost Nelsen and Stewart (who were key starters) from that championship. What is a larger determiner is that DCU has a competitive match (CONCACAF Cup) coming up very soon. So the coaches are pushing the starters (and team harder) to be competitively sharper sooner. Thus, I'm guessing that being competitively sharp and getting a good result mattered a lot to Tommy Soehn (the DCU Asst running the team this game). I doubt that Ellinger had the same priority for this first game. I suspect that talent evaluation mattered more.
I wrote this over at the RealSaltLake.org forums but I'll repost it here: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi guys, here is my match report of yesterday's first RSL preseason match against DC. Well it was 5-1, DC but there was more to it than just a beating (which it really wasn't). Here is the Deseret News article on it (writer James Edwards was there too): http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600110759,00.html The game was pretty much as the DN described it. RSL without potent players like Mathis, Pope and maybe Rojas played DC's A-team minus Forever Gone Nelson and USMNT Ben Olsen. I agree that Dipsy's speed was very good and he had some great tries. I also agree that Kreis and Whitfield got nothing going on on the right side. The formation for the first half was: Selowane-Kreis -----Williams Brenes-Whitfield ----Kamler Behncke-Akawri-Dunseth-Pierce ----Countess The worse breakdown was the backline Akawri was working hard the whole match (only player to go 90). But Dunseth and Pierce had the 2nd and 3rd foulest mouths out there and let way too many past. (Eskedarian was #1 f-bomber). I don't mind ppl swearing at mistakes, but I got the impression, as did those with me, that Pierce and Dunseth were blaming Countess and Behncke for all the backline probs. Especially when it was clear they were making the errors. Pablo Brenes was great. He really worked hard and got a lot of ball. Just couldn't find the net or Dipsy enough. Akawri stopped Esky good several times. Moreno did smoke Behcke several times, Jaime is fast. Alecko is very good and aggressive, seemed too much for the RSL defenders. The second half had this line up: Steven Rhyne-Jamie Watson -------Kevin Ara Sergio Flores-Luke Kremameyer ------O'Brien(trial) Bryan Jackson(trial)-Kenny Cutler(trial) -Nelson Akawri-Kevin Novak(trial) -------Jay Nolly GK Second half was rough. DC got out a lot. Eliseo Quintanilla scored a hattrick I think. Flores, Novak, Watson and Luke looked good but really couldn't put much together. Midfield is definetly the problem. O'Brien took a penalty shot that almost made it, but otherwise I didn't "see" him too much. Jamie Watson had Luke Kremameyer for an assist on Luke's goal. Nice goal. At the very end Kevin Ara got nailed trying to head it in. He was bleeding when the reg blew the whistle. (He was ok). Other than that, I met James and Trey. Brian Kamler gets my vote for the nicest player in MLS, even came over and shook our hands. RSL has a great FO (thats for you Trey). DJ Countess and Brian Dunseth had a good time talking smack (from the bench) at the refs. Actually, it was good material. Also, after reading DN's write up I realize that the whole backline of RSL in the 2nd half was trialist mids playing defense (except for Akawri). No wonder they got smoked.