3 Points: Real Salt Lake plays to scoreless opener with Houston Dynamo
3 Points: Real Salt Lake plays to scoreless opener with Houston Dynamo
The defense was good. The offense was ... shall we say, building? And Sergio Cordova made his MLS debut in the second half, showing promise. Here are three thoughts from RSL's season opener at Houston
After one of the weirdest offseasons in club history that saw the departure of multiple fixtures within the organization and a change in ownership at the top, Real Salt Lake was one of the last teams to kick off the 2022 season of Major League Soccer with a road tilt Sunday at Houston Dynamo FC.
The Dynamo outshot Salt Lake 10-8, but were held to just two shots on target — and one massive misfired attempt that caromed off the underside of the crossbar in the second half. But goalkeeper Zac MacMath stood strong, made two saves, and helped the visitors walk away with a road point and a ninth consecutive match unbeaten against the Dynamo.
“I thought it was a fantastic performance from the guys,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “Real gutsy, I thought they dug deep. To come out with something on the road, I couldn’t be more proud of the effort and the commitment.”
Let the games begin
With the addition of Charlotte FC as Major League Soccer’s 28th team, the offseason is getting shorter and shorter and the season openers are inching earlier and earlier.
With that in mind, opening the 2022 season on the road in warm-weather Texas — as opposed to snow-covered Utah — wasn’t such a bad thing for RSL. In many ways, it almost felt … normal (even if it hardly was).
“I don’t think I realized that it was February still, to be honest,” MacMath said. “It was nice; the weather was beautiful.”
All in all, a point on the road is good — and RSL’s defense was tidy, compact and did its job. The offense left a bit lacking, but it’s also Game 1 of 34; NBD.
Slow start, but the marathon has begun
Let’s get it out of the way: This wasn’t RSL’s first-choice squad. The group that went to Houston was missing quite a few regulars for a variety of reasons, from backup goalkeeper MacMath in goal for David Ochoa to Tate Schmitt’s re-integration from the USL Championship to Justen Glad acting as a “free safety” in a bit of a makeshift back line that alternated between a four- and five-man front.
So to keep a clean sheet through 90 minutes, even when hunkered down against a Dynamo squad that belted 62% of possession in the first half, should be considered at least a minor success. Salt Lake gave up six chances in the first half, but none on goal and seemed content to pick its spots to go forward with just two shots in the opening 45 minutes — including the only shot on goal of the early match. Furthermore, the visitors only allow four bonafide chances at goal in the second half against a team that finished below the playoff line a year ago.
Never take for granted a road result in MLS, 12th-year veteran Justin Meram was quick to point out.
“Shutout. We got a point on the road,” Meram said. “That’s as good as it gets in my book.”
MacMath didn’t have to make a save until the 60th minute, when he parried Adam Lundqvist’s left-footed attempt and follow-up from the edge of the box. The 30-year-old netminder who finished with two saves also got a little help from his best friend, the crossbar, when Darwin Quintero’s 82nd-minute rip caromed off the underside of the bar.
“We would’ve liked to be a little bit cleaner in the offensive part of the game,” MacMath said. “But any time you can go into your first game of the season and keep a shutout, it’s something to be proud of.”
Cordova’s debut
Sunday marked the first competitive match of RSL newcomer Sergio Cordova, the Venezuelan forward who joined Salt Lake on loan from FC Augsburg, the German club owned by RSL co-owner David Blitzer. The 6-foot-2 striker replaced Bobby Wood in the 65th minute (Maikel Chang also replaced Meram as part of the double sub).
Cordova played high for most of his half-hour run out, and was instrumental in Chang earning a set-piece opportunity in the fourth minute of stoppage time from just outside the box. But Pablo Ruiz’s direct attempt sailed well high of the frame as the visitors played to a scoreless draw.
“I thought he was good. Busy. He got on the ball,” Meram said of Cordova. “He had an injury in preseason, so he’s still working through that. For his first action, I thought he was good. He’s a fantastic guy, so hopefully we can watch him build off this performance and see him more in action next week.”
Mastroeni called Cordova’s MLS debut “bright” and hinted at many, many more minutes to come for the 24 year old who had one shot, one attacking assist and only conceded one foul in his first formal 25 minutes with the club.
“He had some really good hold up play, got in behind a couple of times, and his pressing was really good,” Mastroeni said. “In a game where it’s hard to find the rhythm, I thought he adapted really quickly.
“Now it’s just a matter of getting him the kind of minutes where he’s comfortable from the opening whistle.”
Next Up
Real Salt Lake’s home opener is NEXT WEEK, Saturday, March 5 against Seattle Sounders FC. Kickoff against Freddy Juarez, Albert Rusnak and the rest of the Sounders at Rio Tinto Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m. MST.