UnReAL Finish In Salt Lake
Posted by Zane | Filed under Uncategorized
What a finish!
In front of one of Major League Soccer’s greatest crowds, ReAL Salt Lake lost a heartbreaker to the New York Red Bulls 1-0 in Salt Lake Saturday night.
Rio Tinto Stadium was packed with a sell-out crowd of ReAL fans cheering on their team in the Western Conference Final in a game that was clearly dominated by the home team. Streamers, debris, and even smoke bombs were thrown on the field repeatedly by the rabid ReAL Salt Lake fans in one of the greatest, high-energy MLS playoff atmospheres in the league.
But ReAL Salt Lake just couldn’t find the back of the net.
Shot attempt after shot attempt missed high, wide, or hit the post (three times throughout the course of Saturday night’s game) for ReAL Salt Lake.
After scoring an early goal to open the first half, the New York Red Bulls elected to play conservatively and attempt to hang on for the 1-0 win and advance to the MLS Cup 2008 next Sunday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
It worked…kind of.
Frankly, the Red Bulls were lucky to escape Saturday’s game with a win. The defensive scheme used by New York in the second half proved to give ReAL Salt Lake an edge in time of possession, shots, and shots on goal. Fortunately for the Red Bulls, Salt Lake could not manage to put one of their many shots in.
Sadly for ReAL Salt Lake players and fans, the better team did not win Saturday night. So goes the game of soccer sometimes.
MLS Cup 2008 will be a battle between the Western Conference Champion New York Red Bulls and the Eastern Conference Champion Columbus Crew on Sunday, November 23 in Carson, California.
Loading ...Tags: Major League Soccer, MLS, MLS Cup 2008, MLS Playoffs, MLS Western Conference Finals, New York Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake
