Game 18: RSL vs. Chicago: POST 100!

Everyone party! The Review turns 100 today! 100 posts that is. That's 100 entries of my pointless ramblings for your reading (dis)pleasure! To be honest, when I started this I wasn't sure how long it would last; I'm glad I've stuck with it, it's been fun! Anyway, enough of that, on to the review!


First half grade: B
RSL played what was probably their most aggressive half on the road so far in '08. The attacking mentality seemed to work with RSL creating many chances. Unfortunately, the coaching staff stuck with the goal-anorexic tandem of Movsisyan and Nunez for a second straight game, meaning that RSL would almost assuredly not score. And they didn't, even with some quality chances. While I did like the
attacking pressure shown by RSL (and I think with decent, aka our regular, forwards in there it would have paid off), it did leave the team open to counter attacks, which Chicago took advantage of with regularity. Chris Rolfe especially seemed to be dangerous going forward, especially with the help of Loungais' (er, I mean, Blanco's) quality passing. Still, with some hustle and some luck, and after a hard fought first half, RSL took the game to the locker room 0-0.

Second half grade: F
Ah yes, vintage RSL, how we have missed you. RSL came out extremely flat in the second half, while Chicago looked like they had exchanged jerseys with an actual soccer team at the half. The Fire came out firing (damn, that's a clever pun) and had tons of chances. Luckily for RSL, their attack looked about as limp as RSL's normally does. And really, the lone bright spot of the second half offensively for RSL was Robbie Findley, who came on at the half. For the second straight game, Robbie came out like a man possessed, causing havoc for Chicago all over. Unfortunately, his best chance came early in the half when he took a misplayed ball into the box, one-on-one with the keeper, Jon Busch. Robbie fired low to the near post, but Busch made an outstanding acrobatic save to just push the ball wide. In fact, both goalies in this game were outstanding. Not long after that, RSL seemed to give up on the game, I'm not really sure why. Instead of trying for the win, they just bunkered and tried to hold off wave after wave after wave of Chicago attacks. Sound familiar? It looked very much like Ellinger-era RSL, and it was terrible. The clearances were bad and often right back to the Fire. Positioning was often questionable as well. No attempt was made to hold possession or move the ball upfield. Very, very ugly. However, despite the poor play, with the help of a couple great saves by Little Nicky, the defense held on just long enough for RSL to escape Illinois with a 0-0 tie (and a sorely needed road point).

Pros:
-RSL steals a point on the road.
-Findley again looked sharp.
-Rimando looks to be rounding back into the form he showed last year (when he should have been MLS keeper of the year).
-RSL's defense somehow was able to keep the ball out of the net.
-The game was on KSL so we all could enjoy Bill Riley on the call.
-Real Salt Lake stays in first place for another week!

Cons:
-Morales decided to prove Steve Nicol right by having a terrible game.
-Beckerman still doesn't look right out there.
-The bunker ball needs to go! Play to win, boys, not to tie!
-Blanco is hard to watch, his diving is infuriating.

Game grade: D+
A pretty good first half is wiped out by an astonishingly bad second half. The team showed little passion or fight in the second, which does not bode well coming into the home stretch of the season, especially considering how many road games (7) the team has left. With only a one point lead in the conference (and with the teams behind them with a game, or even two, in hand), RSL needs to look to get as many points as possible. That means playing to win, not bunkering for an entire half.


Player grades:
Nick Rimando-9 This game featured two goalies on top of their game.
Chris Wingert-7 Seemed pretty solid in his first game back.
Nat Borchers-7 A little iffy early, became a brick wall late.
Jamison Olave-6 A few too many mistakes.
Ian Joy-6 Perhaps a little generous on the score, but this was possibly his best game for RSL.
Andy Williams-7 The only consistent performer in the midfield.
(Tony Beltran 89)-6 Wasn't on long enough to make an sort of impact.
Dema Kovalenko-6 Pretty bad early, had a solid second half.
Javier Morales-4 Pretty much useless all night. Even his free kicks were bad.
Kyle Beckerman-5 Touch is still terrible, played better very late.
Yura Movsisyan-6 First game I can recall not hating every second he was on the field.
(Kenny Deuchar 67)-6 Actually dribbled (well, tripped) around someone!
Tino Nunez-5 Not a good game for Tino.
(Robbie Findley 46)-7 Came out like a man possessed; once the team refused to attack, his influence waned.

Coaching staff-4 Yes, it's a road point, but the Nunez/Movs experiment must end now and allowing the team to play like that in the second half is unacceptable.

Referees (head ref: Ricardo Salazar)-6 Perhaps let a little too much go, but most of the calls were fair and he seemed to take control when needed. Overall, an average performance (which for MLS is probably an exceptional one!).

RSL Man of the Match:
Nick Rimando
Didn't have to make a lot of saves, due to some decent defending and poor attacking, but positioned himself well, and when he needed to make the big save, he did. Well done, Little Nicky!

Assclown of the Match:
Cuauhtemoc Blanco
Dude, seriously. Quit your diving and whining. It's obnoxious as anything. It's the sort of behavior expected of an...assclown...how fitting!