SANDY — Joao Plata hadn’t scored a goal in 364 days, so when Real Salt Lake earned a stoppage time penalty against Colorado on Saturday, he hardly seemed like the best choice to step up and take it.
But boldly, after the ref pointed to the spot, Plata quickly grabbed the ball and asked Albert Rusnak if he could take the penalty.
Rusnak could’ve easily said no. He’s RSL’s primary penalty taker, he’s the team’s leading scorer and clearly the wiser choice to take a 95th-minute penalty kick with second place in the Western Conference on the line.
Instead, Rusnak deferred to a player who hadn’t scored a goal since last August and had only started one game all season.
Rusnak’s gesture confirms the respect that Plata has from his peers within the locker room despite very little contribution from a player who dates back to the Jason Kreis era.
“We need him to get back to his best and I believe this goal helped him a lot with his confidence,” said Rusnak, who added that he’s just glad RSL won.
It nearly didn’t happen as Howard guessed correctly on Plata’s penalty and got a touch on the ball, but it still slipped under him, giving RSL the 1-0 lead. Plata immediately raced toward RSL’s substitutes warming up down by the endline and a dogpile ensued.
“We need him to get back to his best and I believe this goal helped him a lot with his confidence.” — Albert Rusnak on Joao Plata
Plata was at the bottom of it, and that’s a great sign for RSL in the push for the playoffs. Former coach Mike Petke rarely turned to Plata for late-game help, but interim coach Freddy Juarez has shown a willingness to insert him into matches in crucial situations.
In fact, he was RSL’s only substitute on Saturday as he came on for the ineffective Sam Johnson in the 68th minute.
Rusnak said Plata’s insertion in the game started to turn the tide of the match that Colorado had been in control of until that point.
Considering that Plata has spent most of 2019 on the bench, with just 186 minutes under his belt prior to Saturday, it’s stunning that he had such a large impact on the match.
“I thought Joao came in and did a fantastic job,” said RSL assistant coach Tyrone Marshall. “We asked him to come in and do a job and he came in and ran at the backline, he got the penalty, kudos to Albert to give him the opportunity to get on the scoresheet. That showing a good teammate and being unselfish and we need a guy like that going down the stretch.”
Plata’s last goal came on Aug. 24, 2018 against, coincidentally enough, Colorado. He scored in the second half of RSL’s 6-0 win against the nine-man Rapids after two first half red cards.