Real Salt Lake defeated the Houston Dynamo 2-0 on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium. Javier Morales and Joao Plata each contributed a goal in a match that saw RSL move into seventh place in the Western Conference.
With both teams missing players to the ongoing Gold Cup, each side was forced to do without key starters. However, Real seemed to cope with the changes better, even with head coach Jeff Cassar barred from the sidelines after being suspended in the wake of last week’s disastrous outing in Colorado. Youngsters Justen Glad and Jordan Allen both had good performances after being given rare starts.
Though the home side looked lively and motivated from the opening whistle, Owen Coyle’s Dynamo team was organized defensively and kept RSL from getting on the score sheet early on. Glad had one of the match’s first solid chances with a header in the 24th minute, but it hit the woodwork.
Houston managed to hold Real off with good positioning and physical play until the 36th minute, when Morales got the breakthrough goal. Allen won the ball and gave it to Plata, who then found Morales; the veteran playmaker hit a half-volley from distance, beating Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric for his fourth MLS goal of the season.
After a rather sleepy first half, things picked up in the second — the match grew chippier and referee Robert Sibiga had his hands full keeping things under control. The Dynamo’s Kofi Sarkodie went from hero to scapegoat — after clearing a ball off the line to save a goal just before halftime, he would find himself headed for the locker room in the 54th minute after being shown a straight red card for a foul on Abdoulie Mansally.
Down a goal and a man on the road, Houston was in a precarious position, but managed to pin RSL back in the immediate aftermath of Sarkodie’s sending-off. It wouldn’t last, however, as the Dynamo started to clearly tire out and Real continued to look for a second goal.
That finally came in the 65th minute, with Plata drifting in from the left flank and playing a well-executed give-and-go with Morales as he made a run toward the center and patiently waiting for the right moment to shoot. It would be Plata’s first goal of the season after missing the first several months of the season through injury, and the striker was visibly relieved afterward.
It seemed like RSL might score another after that, but the Dynamo managed to keep the scoreline at just 2-0 in what would be Real’s most comfortable victory in months.
