Real Salt Lake done in early in 4-2 loss to New Mexico United in Open Cup opener
Real Salt Lake done in early in 4-2 loss to New Mexico United in Open Cup opener
Fidel Barajas and Diego Luna each scored for Salt Lake, which resumes MLS play Saturday at the LA Galaxy.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Real Salt Lake’s run in the 2024 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was significantly shorter than a year ago.
The magic of the Cup giveth, and also taketh away.
Zico Bailey scored a first-half brace in a minute’s time, and New Mexico United eliminated last year’s Open Cup semifinalists, 4-2 in front of an announced crowd of 5,266 fans at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Fidel Barajas and Diego Luna each scored for Salt Lake, which resumes MLS play Saturday at the LA Galaxy (8:30 p.m. MT, MLS Season Pass).
But a mixed-choice lineup that included eight newcomers from the weekend’s round of MLS play struggled to open the match.
Bailey put the visitors in a hole early, scoring a pair of goals just a minute apart to put New Mexico up 2-0 shortly after the 20th minute.
Mere moments after a shot that took a deflection before scorching past goalkeeper Gavin Beavers, Bailey did it again to double United’s lead against its top-division foe.
“In those moments of emotional distress, we completely tuned out,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said, before adding: “If you aren’t doing the little things right, you’re going to pay for it. That was a moment, getting caught up in the emotions of conceding, which then led to conceding again.”
RSL began to find more of the ball over the next 15 minutes, culminating with Barajas’ first career goal in a Salt Lake uniform. That goal came from a restart off a long goal kick from Gavin Beavers, who found Barajas before the first-year MLS player cut the visitors’ deficit in half with a left-footed take inside the far post in the 36th minute.
But Nicky Hernandez restored United’s two-goal advantage with a laser beam from outside the box, taking a pass from Daniel Bruce in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time to lift New Mexico to a 3-1 halftime lead.
Luna opened the second half with a moon shot for Real Salt Lake, pulling back another with a right-footed shot from outside the box in the 49th minute.
But Jacobo Reyes slammed the comeback shut with a goal in the 85th minute, finishing a rebound off the woodwork to lift New Mexico to the 4-2 victory.
Poor decision making, a lack of cohesion and a heavily rotated side all contributed to the loss, Mastroeni said. Much of that could be expected, but it was the little things that cost RSL in its eighth opening round loss in Cup competition.
“The margins are really small, but doing all the little things separate the group,” said Mastroeni, whose club will travel directly to Los Angeles for Saturday’s league match.
While disappointed, Mastroeni pointed to the play of a few individuals — including Zavier Gozo, who made his first start with the first team and assisted on the opening goal, as well as homegrown left back Tommy Silva, Barajas and Luna, who played in the same starting XI.
“Right after the game, you’re emotional and you want to keep this thing going and keep the result,” Mastroeni said. “But I guess the silver lining is the guys spoke about the lack of mentality against a team that is playing tough, and some younger players played well.”
Scoring Summary
17’ NM – Zico Bailey (Sergio Rivas)
19’ NM – Zico Bailey (Dayonn Harris)
35’ RSL – Fidel Barajas (Zavier Gozo)
45’+4 NM – Nicky Hernandez
49’ RSL – Diego Luna (Anderson Julio)
85’ NM – Jacobo Reyes