SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando called it the most frustrating game he’s ever been a part of.
And for someone who’s been around as long as Rimando, that’s saying something.
In a match punctuated by 37 total fouls and only two shots on frame all night by either team, RSL and the San Jose Earthquakes played to a 1-1 draw Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Earthquakes were responsible for both goals, the first a controversial score coming from forward Chris Wondolowski and the other an own goal from defender Victor Bernardez.
“It felt like a basketball game with so many whistles," Rimando said in the locker room after the match. "Couldn’t get a rhythm going. Neither team could get a rhythm going. I don’t really know what to think.”
The stop-and-start nature of the match served to deny any side from really taking control.
“You want to give the fans so much more,” Rimando said, continuing. “It’s on television, and the soccer wasn’t great, lots of whistles and ticky-tack fouls.”
RSL captain Kyle Beckerman also lamented the flow of the game, saying that it’s hard when the teams on the field don’t control the outcome of the match themselves.
“All we want to do is play,” Beckerman said from the post-game podium. “We want us to decide the game. I don’t know. The games just haven’t been really fun. It’s just a lot of stop, start. The whole game there’s no rhythm. The game, it’s just not fun.”
The main talking point of the match was Wondolowski's 19th-minute opening goal. The play happened when Shea Salinas's shot deflected off an RSL player to Wondolowski, who was standing in an offside position. The US international simply turned and fired in a goal, while the RSL players were left calling for offside.
"There's a rule that if the player is in an offside position, but it comes off your team and if it's played to them [then he can be considered onside]," RSL head coach Jeff Cassar said after the match. "I think that they deemed it that we played the ball to Wondo. Factually that's correct, but I don't understand it. We didn't pass it to him. It deflected off of one of our players, and [San Jose had] two men in an offside position. So it is what it is."
RSL were fortunate to equalize late when Bernardez lofted a ball over his own goalkeeper and into the net in the 71st minute. But the draw did nothing to satisfy the home side after a forgettable performance.
“We got to find ourselves,” Beckerman said. “Forget the other team, whoever it is. Every team is tough for us right now. We’ve got to strive to get better. We’ve got to continue to work hard. We’ve got to figure out who we are and what we’re about and then try and work on that every week.”
Morales injured
RSL’s midfield talisman, Javier Morales, suffered an apparent head injury toward the end of the first half and had to be taken off. He was taken to the hospital for further examination, according to Cassar.
"I hadn't spoken to the trainers or doctor about it, but it was clear that after he went back onto the field that something wasn't right," Cassar said. "He was a little bit disengaged from the game and we decided to make a move for his safety."
