RSL ties Chivas 1-1
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RSL draw with CD Guadalajara in fierce friendly
(by John Coon mlsnet.com 10-7-09)
SANDY, Utah -- Getting a positive result from a late-season friendly with Chivas de Guadalajara became the primary mission of Real Salt Lake. The Claret-and-Cobalt accomplished that mission after a dominant first-half performance lifted them to a 1-1 draw against the legendary Mexican club on Wednesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Fabian Espindola's first-half goal paced RSL on offense, while Omar Esparza provided the lone strike for Chivas.
Real came out of the gates in commanding fashion. Javier Morales quickly went to work warming up the offense when he tried to punch home a pair of shots from distance with no success.
Morales blasted the ball up the middle as he approached the penalty area in the 13th minute, only to have Chivas goalkeeper Luis Ernesto Michel parry it away. Then he took a free kick from 25 yards out in the 15th minute. The ball cleared the three-man wall of CD Guadalajara easily enough, but it landed square in Michel's hands as he came off his line.
RSL finally cashed in during the 16th minute following a nicely executed defensive play from Yura Movsisyan.
The Armenian forward snatched the ball away from a Chivas player and threaded it over to Espindola. Once he latched onto the pass, Espindola streaked toward the penalty area, only to pull up just outside. Espindola unleashed a low shot as he slid forward and angled the ball inside the left corner of the net to give Real a 1-0 lead.
Breaking through the RSL defense ended up being a major difficulty for Guadalajara. Chivas failed to create a single shot through the entire first half.
However, Chivas finally broke the ice in the 52nd minute when a nice give-and-go play between Omar Esparza and Hector Reynoso set up the team's first shot of the match.
Esparza laid it off to Reynoso and then cut into the area and latched onto a through ball from the defender. Once he had possession again, Esparza fired a rocket from the left side of the area that sailed over the shoulder of RSL 'keeper Nick Rimando and slotted perfectly inside the right post to make it 1-1.
Real had a solid chance to retake the lead on a pair of corner kicks in the 71st minute, but came away empty both times. Andy Williams swung the first one from the left side into Nat Borchers along the right post. Borchers headed it on frame, but his shot was cleared over the crossbar. Rachid El Khalifi took a second kick from the right corner. He dropped the ball down inside the six, but it took a hop into the waiting hands of backup Chivas 'keeper Victor Hugo Hernandez.
Robbie Findley took a crack at getting RSL a second goal in the 73rd minute. He blasted a low shot just outside the restraining arc, but the ball was saved by a diving Hernandez.
Findley was denied another opportunity when Hernandez failed to clear away an attempt from Pablo Campos in the 79th minute. The RSL striker tried to outrace Chivas defender Aaron Galindo to the ball sitting a couple of yards off the left post in front of an open net, but Galindo made a fantastic tackle to deny Findley a would-be tap-in.
Tempers boiled over on both sides as the half wound down and resulted a near brawl between RSL and Chivas late in first-half stoppage time.
After some pushing and shoving and shouting between both teams, Chivas midfielder Edgar Solis and RSL center back Jamison Olave were both ejected from the match. Solis initiated much of the ruckus when he threw an elbow into Williams from behind. Olave earned his ejection by going after forward Javier Hernandez long after the referee and linesmen attempted to separate players from both teams.
By halftime, Salt Lake and Chivas totaled a combined five yellow cards and two red cards.
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