(by James Edward desnews.com 9-22-10)
Thanks to a gutty performance in Central America, Real Salt Lake is on the doorstep of advancing out of CONCACAF Champions League group play.
Despite conceding an early goal yet again, RSL responded quickly to build a two-goal halftime lead and then hung on for the 3-2 victory over Arabe Unido in Panama City on Wednesday night.
With the victory, Real Salt Lake now leads Group A with nine points through four matches. Cruz Azul sits in second with seven points, followed by Toronto FC with four and Arabe Unido with three.
"It's one step closer to getting to what is a huge priority for us to advance out of this tournament, but I also know the work is not done. We can't take a breather," said RSL coach Jason Kreis.
RSL's next Champions League match is at Toronto on Sept. 28, and it wraps up group play on Oct. 19 at home against Cruz Azul. A tie in either match should be more than enough for RSL to clinch a spot in the CCL quarterfinals next February.
Perhaps not surprisingly, it was another shaky start Wednesday night for Real Salt Lake. Just like in its previous three matches, RSL allowed the first goal — this one shockingly early as Arabe Unido scored in the second minute on a free kick by Williams Aguilar.
Kreis didn't want to harp too much on the early goal because he believes the foul that led to the free kick was "very suspect."
The way his team responded to the adversity was what Kreis was most pleased about. RSL never panicked, and by halftime the visitors led comfortably as Will Johnson scored twice and Alvaro Saborio tacked on his sixth goal of the tournament.
Johnson worked his tail off for his 10th minute equalizer. He relentlessly applied pressure on a pair of Arabe Unido defenders near the end line, eventually deflecting the ball toward goal, and after Fabian Espindola's initial toe poke was saved, Johnson was there to tap it into the empty net.
"A lot of good things happen because he works so hard," said Kreis.
In the 36th minute, Saborio headed in a Nelson Gonzalez corner kick to put RSL ahead 2-1, and two minutes before halftime, Saborio set up Johnson for the 3-1 lead.
"I'm really pleased with the response of the group," said Kreis. "It showed a really positive response on our part, no panic."
The second half got a bit too hectic for Kreis' liking, however. In the 53rd minute, Tony Beltran was whistled for a foul in the box, and Mario Angulo converted the penalty kick to cut the deficit to 3-2.
RSL dropped back defensively the final 15 minutes into a 4-5-1 formation to protect the lead as Jean Alexandre entered the match for Saborio.
Perhaps the only negative to come out of the match was Espindola's red card from the bench late in the match after he had played 60 minutes early in the match. He'll be forced to miss next week's match at Toronto as will Gonzalez for yellow card accumulation.
The win was all the more satisfying for Real Salt Lake considering several key starters didn't even travel with the team.
Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert and Andy Williams did not travel because Kreis believes they deserved some much-needed rest, while Javier Morales didn't travel because of a quad injury.
"I feel good again that we've been able to insert some players, develop a rotation and get some results," said Kreis.
Chris Schulter started in place of Nat Borchers, and he's quickly establishing himself as a viable option at center back despite being a rookie.
RSL returns home today and will have to immediately shift its focus back to Major League Soccer as it hosts rival Colorado Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
In the midst of a 23-game home unbeaten streak, RSL needs to secure the full three points against the Rapids to continue to put pressure on the L.A. Galaxy, who enjoy a three-point cushion at the top of the MLS table.
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