I think if we get to half one-nothing, it’d be a different second half. Where we’re at right now, that goal put our heads down for a little bit, and against a team like Kansas City, you can’t do that because they’ll start to impose their will. – RSL coach Jeff Cassar said.
KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Real Salt Lake didn’t concede the go-ahead goal in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup semifinal match against Sporting Kansas City until 10 minutes remained in regulation.
However, RSL coach Jeff Cassar believes the seeds for the 3-1 loss at Sporting Park were planted way back in the first half, when the Claret and Cobalt allowed an equalizer only minutes after scoring its first goal in Kansas City in nearly two years.
“I think if we get to half one-nothing, it’d be a different second half. Where we’re at right now, that goal put our heads down for a little bit, and against a team like Kansas City, you can’t do that because they’ll start to impose their will,” Cassar said. “To give up that goal before halftime, it took a lot out of us. It shouldn’t. We’ve had some really tough games before that haven’t gone our way, and I think our confidence dipped a little.”
It was RSL’s first loss against in Sporting KC in four matches this season. Gone with the loss is the chance to play second U.S. Open Cup final in club history.
Things started well. RSL quieted the crowd of 16,117 in the 24th minute.
Tony Beltran, near midfield, lofted a ball over the Sporting KC defense. Olmes Garcia ran under the ball in the Sporting KC 18-yard box, settled it with a deft first touch and calmly beat Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia on the near-side post.
It was RSL’s first goal at Sporting Park in 264 minutes of play, dating back to the 2013 MLS Cup final.
Sporting KC leveled the match in the 35th minute when Soni Mustivar headed home a free kick from Benny Feilhaber.
RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando spent most of the second half under siege. It took five saves from Rimando and two saves from his defenders to keep the match level.
“I thought (Nick) did a great job. I don’t think they had a lot of shots on goal, per se. I think we gifted them, at the end of the day, three goals. And you can’t do that.”
SKC finally broke through in the 80th minute. SKC striker Dom Dwyer flew past RSL’s Elias Vazquez and fired a shot that caromed off the post to Feilhaber, who put the ball into an empty net.
Real Salt Lake defender Aaron Maund's misplay in front of RSL's own net led to a gift-wrapped goal for SKC’s Krisztian Nemeth in the 85th minute.
“The first 15 minutes, I thought we did a good job handling their pressure. After getting past that wave of attack, I thought we did a good job getting pressure, with a good finish by Olmes to get that goal,” Beltran said. “In the second half, it was a different story. We didn’t have that composure to play out of the back. Credit to them, they did a good job pressuring us, and we weren’t good enough with the ball.”
Frustrations boiled over late in the match. The two teams came together in the 89th minute in front of the SKC net.
Garcia was shown a red card and ejected in the 91st minute after fouling Feilhaber from behind.
It was a disappointing end to one of the best USOC runs in club history.
“I feel like every time we play here, there’s always a couple waves, maybe 15 or 20 minutes where we’re really under it,” Beltran said. “In the first half we did a good job denying them anything, but in the second half, a different story.”