Real Salt Lake's CONCACAF Journey – RSL 2 – 0 Tauro: Keys to Success in the CONCACAF - Match Recap

With their backs against the wall, Real Salt Lake rose to the occasion and put together a complete performance in their 2 – 0 victory over the visiting Panamanian Tauro FC.

Sabo and Captain Kyle lead the troops to victory with goals in the second half, scored within 10 minutes of each other.

Real could have easily lead the game at the half 4 – 0 had it not been for the lightning fast reactions of the Tauro net minder, Alvaro Anzola.  The keeper frustrated the Claret and Cobalt with several highlight worthy, skillful and speedy saves to keep his side in the game.  His trusty friend, the upright, also kept a blasted volley from Ned Grabavoy out of the net in the first half.

Commendable performances from the RSL side were delivered all over the field but for me the work put in by Paulo (Araujo) Jr., Ned Grabavoy and Will Johnson had the greatest impact on the match.

As expected there were plenty of theatrics and time wasting by Tauro FC, especially in the first half before they went down a goal.  The acting was comically horrible and the ensuing medical attention was equally as laughable. The crowd grew very frustrated with the theatrics as the match wore on.

Midfielder Will Johnson had his say on the matter as well in the latter minutes of the match.  After being fouled by a Tauro player he promptly began to stand up and then dramatically threw himself back to the ground rolling around as if in pain.  He stood back up and made a gesture to the Tauro player and the ref as if to say "come on guys, give it a rest"!  It was one of the most comical moments I have ever seen in a football match and our whole section found it very enjoyable!

Unfortunately Captain Beckerman was ejected with a Red Card 72nd minute, which means he will miss the next RSL CONCACAF match.  Beckerman went into a tackle late with his studs up to draw the Red.  On the previous play he had been kneed in the head by one of the Tauro players.  His actions may have been somewhat retaliatory.

Yordany Alvarez came in for Kyle and RSL transitioned to a defensive formation to ride out the rest of the match, being able to weather the storm and keep the shutout for the final 20 minutes.

Click on this pic to see Kyle take a knee to the head.

 For those of you who have followed my RSL 2012-2013 CONCACAF coverage, I have previously highlighted 9 keys I feel will be vital to their success in the CONCACAF.  Below is a quick recap of how I feel the team did tonight in this regards.

1. Start Strong – Check
2. Underestimating the Opponents Match Fitness – Check
3. Not playing injured players too soon – Check, we saw an unconventional starting lineup as a result and even had a Center Back, Krause, I believe on loan from the Carolina Railhawks due to the current Center Back deficiency.
4. Center Back Deficiency – Check, Watson-Siriboe and Chris Wingert filled in admirably for Borchers and Olave.
5. Do Not Underestimate the Foe –Check
6. Officiating – While we did not play as physical as a typical MLS match, we still gave the center official too many opportunities to issue cards and infractions.  Case and point, Kyle Beckerman's Red Card.
7. Midfield Possession and Sharper Passing – Check
8. Offensive Aggressiveness – Check, RSL dominated the tempo of the match and were wizard like at their shot creation.  It was a very entertaining match to watch.
9. Finishing Chances –Check, while we didn't register a goal in the first half, we finally found the back of the net twice in the second half.  Overall our shots were hard, fast and well placed.  On a different night with a different keeper, RSL could have won 6 or 7 to 0.

All in all I think the clubs performance tonight was much improved over the first leg in Costa Rica and establishes RSL as the dominant side in the CONCACAF group.  I think they did a great job of cleaning up the items outlined above and were victorious because of their efforts.

Match day is always a special day but especially when we walk away with a convincing win!  Believe!

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