SALT LAKE CITY -- Real Salt Lake continued to show they have what it takes to win on their home field, a late Kyle Beckerman goal giving them a 2-1 victory against FC Dallas on Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Javier Morales took advantage of an FC Dallas mixup to score in the first half, but Kenny Cooper scored the first goal for FCD in three matches to bring the match level.
Beckerman answered shortly thereafter, poking a lob from Andy Williams past FCD 'keeper Dario Sala for the game-winner. It was the second victory for RSL this season -- both coming at home -- and extended the Hoops' winless streak to three games.
FC Dallas came out on the attack in the very first minute when Juan Toja launched a quick shot that sailed high.
Toja went to work again in the fourth minute when he sent the ball wide to Arturo Alvarez. Alvarez spun and released the ball, but his would-be shot did not go far, as RSL defender Nat Borchers slid across the turf to deflect away the ball.
RSL attacked on the other end but came away empty-handed as well. Beckerman's shot in the sixth minute turned into an easy save for Sala.
Chris Wingert crossed to Fabian Espindola in the 11th minute. But Espindola's subsequent header could not get past an airborne Sala.
Things devolved into a real comedy of errors for the Hoops and RSL about midway through the first half.
It all began with a free kick by Dema Kovalenko in the 25th minute. Kovalenko sent a powerful drive that sailed past the left side of the FCD wall, only to see his shot clank off the near post and the ball ricochet back to Duilio Davino.
Inexplicably, Davino sent the ball back toward his own net. The potential own goal never developed though, as Kenny Deuchar made a "save." Deuchar had dove to try and head the rebound in, and instead found himself in the path of the oncoming ball and it ended up striking him in the back.
Things got wackier when RSL finally got on the board in the 28th minute. From a long pass downfield, Sala tried to clear the ball out, but his attempt instead ricocheted off Andre Rocha and Drew Moor in succession.
The ball fell to Morales and he had no trouble corralling the bouncing ball and threading it between Moor and Rocha into the empty goal for a 1-0 RSL lead.
RSL did not get another shot the rest of the half, but good defense and some lucky bounces made the lead stand going into halftime.
Cooper wound up and uncoiled a booming drive from 35 yards out in the 33rd minute. His shot looked on target when it was released, but just skimmed past the outside of the far post.
It was a tough half for Cooper, who also had an earlier scoring opportunity in the 17th minute also fizzle away. He had two shots at the goal. The first one ended up being deflected away on a header by Tony Beltran. Cooper latched onto the ball again a few seconds later, but his second shot went high over the top of the net.
Dallas seemingly had another solid chance in the 36th minute when Abe Thompson drove along the near sideline and had only to beat Kovalenko one-on-one to score. Thompson arched a shot over Kovalenko's head, but the ball landed flush in the hands of RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
The Hoops finally evened things up in the 56th minute when Rocha lofted the ball down along the right sideline and Cooper beat Borchers in a footrace to the ball. In one swift motion, Cooper turned and fired. With Rimando stationed at the near post, the ball sailed over him, off the underside of the crossbar and bounced into the back of the net.
RSL worked quickly to answer. Kovalenko tried to create something on a drive in the 60th minute. Sala met him in the box and Kovalenko fired a shot under him, only to see Davino clear away the ball before it could reach the net.
Beckerman first tried for the go-ahead goal in the 72nd minute when he settled the ball after it had been passed back-and-forth around the top of the area like a hot potato. Sala swiftly grabbed his shot out of the air.
But Beckerman wasn't denied a minute later. A deft chip from Williams sailed over the pulled-up FCD backline and Beckerman slipped in all alone on goal, poking the ball between Sala's legs as he came off his line.
Dallas nearly punched in a goal a couple of times during stoppage time at the end of the second half, but an alert save by Rimando preserved the victory.
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