Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City | MLS Match Preview

Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting Kansas City
RIO TINTO STADIUM, Sandy, Utah
July 24, 2015 (MLS Game # 204)
11 pm ET (UniMás)

The MLS Cup finalists from 2013 meet for a third time this season in a critical match in the Western Conference when Real Salt Lake play host to Sporting Kansas City at Rio Tinto Stadium on Viernes de Fútbol. Sporting currently hold a place in the top six in the division – with Real sitting six points out of a playoff place at the moment. Real put an end to a four-game winless run with a 2-0 home win against the Houston Dynamo last weekend, while Sporting won their third league game on the trot, a 2-1 win against the Montreal Impact at Sporting Park.

• Javier Morales and Joao Plata each scored a goal and assisted on the other as Real Salt Lake put an end to a four-game winless run with a 2-0 victory against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday evening. Both players have a goal and two assists in their last two games; for Plata, it was his first MLS goal of 2015.
• Sporting Kansas City extended their home winning streak to six games in league play and their overall winning run to three games, as Benny Feilhaber scored a goal and added an assist in a 2-1 win against the Montréal Impact on Saturday evening. Feilhaber now has 10 assists, second in MLS this season.
• The teams are meeting for the third time this season. Olmes Garcia scored the match-winner well into second-half stoppage time to hand Real a 2-1 win June 21 at Rio Tinto Stadium; they played to a scoreless draw April 11 at Sporting Park.
• The RSL win in the last meeting was their first against SKC since 2011, a 1-0 win Sept. 17 at Rio Tinto Stadium. SKC won two of the four meetings in between, with two draws.

REFEREE: Allen Chapman. AR1 (bench): Paul Scott; AR2 (opposite): Chris Strickland; 4th: Kevin Stott
MLS Career: 62 games; FC/gm: 23.3; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 16; pens: 27

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SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: RSL: Luke Mulholland … KC: Soni Mustivar, Dom Dwyer
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: RSL: Jordan Allen, Olmes Garcia, Tony Beltran … KC: Roger Espinoza, Kevin Ellis, Benny Feilhaber
DISABLED LIST: KC: Ike Opara
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: RSL: Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando (USA, CONCACAF Gold Cup); Demar Phillips (Jamaica, CONCACAF Gold Cup) … KC: Graham Zusi (USA; CONCACAF Gold Cup)

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (19 meetings): Real 6 wins, 22 goals … Sporting 8 wins, 24 goals … Ties 5
AT SALT LAKE (9 meetings): Real 5 wins, 15 goals … Sporting 3 wins, 12 goals … Ties 1

2015 (MLS):
4/11: KC 0, RSL 0
6/21: RSL 2, KC 1 (Jaime 15; Garcia 93+ -- Dwyer 30)

• The teams are meeting for the third time this season. Olmes Garcia scored the match-winner well into second-half stoppage time to hand Real a 2-1 win June 21 at Rio Tinto Stadium; they played to a scoreless draw April 11 at Sporting Park.
• The RSL win in the last meeting was their first against SKC since 2011, a 1-0 win Sept. 17 at Rio Tinto Stadium. SKC won two of the four meetings in between, with two draws.
• Real have never won at Sporting Park, in five meetings lifetime, including MLS Cup 2013. RSL last won in Kansas City in 2009 (at CommunityAmerica Ballpark).
• The teams are also now set to face each other in a US Open Cup semifinal, set for Aug. 12 at Sporting Park.
• Coaches record: Jeff Cassar vs. KC: P3 W1 L0 D2 … Peter Vermes vs. RSL: P10 W3 L4 D3

LAST MEETING (MLS)

• Real took the lead in the 15th minute. Javier Morales lofted in a free kick from the right flank, picking out Sebastian Jaime at the back post, and he placed his header perfectly, bouncing it off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net.
• Sporting pulled even a quarter-hour later. Midfielder Benny Feilhaber slipped a clever ball through to Dom Dwyer in the center of the box, and as the SKC striker kept an RSL defender on his hip, he coolly slotted home past RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
• The winner came three minutes into stoppage time through a stroke of good fortune. Morales again played provider, fighting to keep the ball in midfield and finding Garcia on the wing. He then took a touch inside and blasted a shot towards goal, with the ball bouncing off SKC defender Kevin Ellis before looping over goalkeeper Tim Melia and giving RSL all three points.
• REAL SALT LAKE (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando - Tony Beltran, Aaron Maund, Justen Glad, Demar Phillips - Luke Mulholland (Luis Gil 70), Kyle Beckerman - Sebastian Jaime (Jordan Allen 69), Javier Morales, Joao Plata (Olmes Garcia 83) - Devon Sandoval.
• SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-1-2-3): Tim Melia - Jalil Anibaba, Kevin Ellis, Matt Besler, Amadou Dia (Saad Abdul-Salaam 90) - Soni Mustivar - Benny Feilhaber, Roger Espinoza - Graham Zusi, Dom Dwyer, Krisztian Nemeth (Jacob Peterson 75).

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