Redemption and a record: Damir Kreilach pushes RSL streak to unreal lengths
The Kreilach Kid was at his best in Saturday's season opener, scoring the game-winner in a 2-1 win at Vancouver that gave Real Salt Lake its 14th-straight result in an opening match.
HERRIMAN, Utah — The start couldn’t have been much worse, but the finish was about as good as can be expected for Real Salt Lake’s season opener at Vancouver.
Finishing has always been one of Damir Kreilach’s special skills, after all.
The 33-year-old Croatian midfielder defied time, slicing through the Whitecaps’ defense in the 73rd minute to lob the game-winning shot from Jefferson Savarino that lifted RSL to an improbably 2-1 win over the Whitecaps at BC Place.
That Salt Lake came back from a 1-0 deficit to snatch all three points on the road in a season opener isn’t shocking; the club improved its unbeaten streak in season openers to 14-straight games — an MLS record that dates back to 2010.
That it came through Kreilach, the 2021 MLS All-Star who has been Benjamin Button’ing with a smile on his face since he arrived on the Wasatch Front from Union Berlin in 2018 — well, that shouldn’t be surprising, either, for the man who scored 44 goals with 23 assists in 125 regular-season matches in the North America-based league.
But considering where Kreilach was less than a year ago, recovering from back surgery that caused him to miss all but five games of the 2022 season, the start seemed most improbable.
Not only did Kreilach score the game-winning goal less than four minutes after Justen Glad had equalized, but he did it in a game he started and played all 90 minutes.
In the red corner, Father Time. And in the blue corner, Damir Kreilach. No man can stay undefeated against such an opponent forever, but for now, Kreilach is battling Time to a draw.
“The things that Dami brings to the group are so much more than you see with your eyes,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said. “He brings an unbelievable amount of leadership to the group, managing the game the right way, leading the press from the front, linking the midfield.
“But his greatest asset is scoring goals. You know, I’ve never seen a player that is so lethal in front of goal. He takes his chances well. So after spending a year away and watching his teammates play last year, I’m just so happy for him to be able to share in that moment and score the game winner. He is the leader of this group, and he’s waited a long time for this moment.”
Of course, Kreilach didn’t think much of his goal. He kind of shrugged it off when he met with a handful of Salt Lake-area reporters via Zoom following Saturday’s match, in the sort of “Ahh, shucks; who me?” way that many RSL fans have enjoyed watching for each of the past five seasons.
Asked about the game-winner, in fact, he immediately went down the list of “thank yous” he felt deserved the credit for the goal more than him: the coaching staff, the medical staff, the front office, the fans, and — of course — his teammates. Kreilach, after all, wouldn’t be #OnBrand if he didn’t thank his teammates.
“I think overall, it was a great win tonight,” he said. “It’s not easy to play away and get three points. We didn’t come into the game the way we wanted. But in the end we showed our DNA.”
The start, though, was anything but easy — by both Mastroeni and Kreilach’s own admission. The visitors were out-shot 6-1 on target by Vancouver, including Javain Brown’s 24th-minute rip that led to the Whitecaps’ 1-0 halftime lead.
But RSL flipped it around in the second half, out-shooting the ‘Caps 6-1 after the break in building up to Glad’s finish from Maikel Chang in the 70th minute.
Less than four minutes later, Jefferson Savarino charged into the box, broke through the back line, then nutmegged a defender with a backwards pass toward the top of the box. Kreilach knew exactly what to do with the ball, and the wide-open midfielder took one touch with his left foot to gift Salt Lake all three points.
“Sava got the ball on the left side and made the deep run, and then I was ready to get this ball back. Luckily, the ball found the back of the net,” Kreilach said. “It was a great assist from Sava, but I want to point overall to the team effort; it was unbelievable — especially in the second half.
“Of course, you’re going to see the mistakes we did in the first half, and we’re going to still try to improve next week to be ready for Seattle.”
RSL hits the road again next Saturday to face the Seattle Sounders. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. MT on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
