REAL SALT LAKE v NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION – MONDAY, JULY 4, 2011 MORALES A MARKED MAN IN MLS: Argentine
SEEING RED, BUT TO LITTLE ADVANTAGE:
playmaker Javier Morales has played 116 games for RSL (93 MLS regular-season, 8 playoff, 3 Open Cup, 12 CCL) … During that time, he has been the most-fouled player in the League (reg. season only), an indicator of the target on his back by opposing defenses … The list (from 8/29/07 to 5/7/11):
Back on May 7, Real Salt Lake saw an opponent hit with multiple red cards for the third time in the team’s 199game MLS regular-season history, with the 65-minute span with at least a one-man advantage the longest in club annals …
Player Javier Morales - RSL Alejandro Moreno - CLB Eddie Gaven - CLB Robbie Rogers - CLB Guillermo Barros Schelotto - CLB
FS 211 199 189 172 163
ALL-TIME RESULTS, WITHOUT JAVIER: Since the talismanic Argentine Javier Morales‟ arrival on the Wasatch Front, RSL has played 35 MLS regularseason/playoff, CCL or Open Cup games without its playmaker, posting a 14-10-13 overall mark … Head Coach Jason Kreis‟ team has gone 10-9-11 in MLS reg. season play, 0-0-1 Playoff, 3-0-0 in CONCACAF and 1-1-1 in Open Cup sans Javi … Since the beginning of the 2009 season, that record is 12-7-10, including a surprising ability to score 2+ goals in 13 of those 29 games without Javier … The breakdown: DATE 09/19/2007 09/22/2007 09/29/2007 10/06/2007 10/15/2007 10/20/2007
OPP. Los Angeles Colorado at New York Chivas USA Houston at Colorado
RESULT T 2-2 W 1-0 T 2-2 L 2-3 L 0-1 W 1-0 (2-2-2 overall)
05/15/2008
at Colorado
L 0-2
04/28/2009 05/06/2009 06/06/2009 08/26/2009 08/29/2009 09/12/2009 09/19/2009 09/26/2009
@ Seattle Los Angeles Colorado Chivas USA at Kansas City Chicago at Houston at FC Dallas
L T T W W T L L
1-4* USOC 2-2 1-1 4-0 1-0 1-1 2-3 0-3 (2-3-3 overall)
04/14/2010 04/17/2010 04/24/2010 05/01/2010 05/08/2010 09/15/2010 09/18/2010 09/22/2010 09/25/2010 10/19/2010 11/06/2010
at San Jose at Los Angeles at Columbus Toronto FC Philadelphia Toronto FC Chicago at Arabe Unido Colorado Cruz Azul FC Dallas
T L L W W W W W T W T
3-3* 1-2 0-1 2-1 3-0 4-1^ 1-0 3-2^ 1-1 3-1^ 1-1&
04/09/2011 05/14/2011 05/22/2011 05/28/2011 06/04/2011 06/08/2011 06/11/2011 06/18/2011 06/22/2011 06/25/2011 06/28/2011
at New England Houston at Dallas Seattle Vancouver Columbus at Phila. D.C. United at Chicago Toronto FC Wilmington
W T T L W L T T T W W
2-0 0-0 0-0 1-2 2-0 1-2 1-1 1-1 0-0 3-1 2-0* USOC (4-2-5 overall)
(0-1-0 overall)
USOC
CCL CCL CCL Playoff (6-2-3 overall)
For an incredible amount of 49 minutes, RSL enjoyed a TWO-MAN advantage over Chivas USA, playing 11-v9 in deadlocked fashion prior to Will Johnson’s th victory-clinching goal in the 87 minute … On only one nd prior occasion – Oct. 18, 2008, in the 2 -ever game at Rio Tinto Stadium – had RSL enjoyed a 2-man advantage over its opponent, but that was just for stoppage time of the team‟s 3-1 victory over FC Dallas, a game known primarily for Johnson‟s 2008 MLS Goal of the Year blast …
OTHER RED CARD MISCELLANY: In its history, RSL has never played with just nine men due to disciplinary issues, and has even scored FIVE short-handed goals (Jason Kreis, 7/4/05 v. NY; Chris Klein & Kreis, 9/16/06 v. DAL; a Chris Leitch own-goal on 7/3/09 v. SJ; and Nelson Gonzalez late goal on 5/28/11 v. SEA) … On 25 occasions, RSL opponents have been subject to ejection, giving the Claret-and-Cobalt a total of 424 minutes with a man-advantage … During those minutes, RSL has seen a +9 goal difference … On the other hand, RSL has been victim of 29 red cards, succumbing to a -9 goal difference in a total of 569 minutes playing a man down … Incredibly, SIX of those nine goals came in one game, the 0-6 loss @NY in August th 2006 when DF Jack Stewart was tossed in the 8 minute … in that game, RSL made it to halftime tied 0-0, but allowed an Edson Buddle hat trick in a 21-minute span of nd the 2 half, with another three goals scored during the final 45 minutes …
ROAD OPTIMISM:
Despite the late collapse at Columbus and the difficult start at Philadelphia, Real Salt Lake – once the worst road team in the history of MLS – has earned points in 15 of its last 18 road games – the equivalent of an entire season – dating back to May, 2010 … The road forays have been low-scoring, as RSL has outscored opponents 14-12 goals in that span – while Jason Kreis‟ team has dropped just six of its last 28 overall if you include CONCACAF and MLS Cup Playoff road matches (and one loss, April 5 at Saprissa, still clinched the series for RSL) … This recent advent of road success places the squad‟s alltime regular season road mark at 16-57-25 (.260; 89 GF / 164 GA) … Since Kreis took over, RSL‟s MLS road mark is 12-33-20, with the four road wins in 2010 doubling the two earned in each of the 2007-09 seasons … Seven games down (2-2-3, 9 pts), 10 to go in 2011 …