SALT LAKE CITY -- Real Salt Lake kept their unbeaten record at home intact Saturday night. But they would have preferred to do it in a different manner, after battling to a scoreless tie with the Kansas City Wizards at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The tie snapped RSL's two-game home winning streak and deprived RSL of its first chance to win consecutive games this season. It also extended the Wizards' winless run to five games as they finished a six-game road swing.
Defensively, Real did more than enough to claim victory. But they could not get anything past K.C. goalkeeper Kevin Hartman despite producing 13 shots on goal and 20 shots overall.
Kansas City took control in the first 10 minutes. The best scoring chance for the Wizards came in the third minute when Kerry Zavagnin gathered in the ball and sent a one-touch pass to Claudio Lopez in the middle of the box. Lopez sent a bouncing volley toward the near post where Salt Lake 'keeper Nick Rimando dove and caught the ball before it could go anywhere.
Then in the seventh minute, Davy Arnaud cracked a shot that rattled the underside of the crossbar before bouncing down and away to safety.
RSL asserted itself defensively as the half went along, limiting the Wizards to two shots in all and no further shots on goal.
RSL also started creating more chances after the first 20 minutes. The first came in the 23rd minute when Kenny Deuchar jumped up and snagged a ball out of the air and laid it off to Kyle Beckerman on the left side. Beckerman had an open channel from about 28 yards out and let fly, but the ball landed square in the waiting hands of Hartman.
The two reversed roles in the 28th minute. Beckerman threaded the needle between a pair of defenders in an attempt to get it ahead to Deuchar on the run. Hartman anticipated the hook-up, however and slid in front of the ball, clearing it away before Deuchar could get to it.
Deuchar had another solid chance a minute later, but could not conjure up a goal again. Jamison Olave took a corner kick and swung it into the far post where Deuchar was waiting for the ball. Once Deuchar had it, he knocked it high over the crossbar.
RSL had 12 shots and seven shots on goal in the first half, but struggled to finish and create any truly stellar chances in the final third.
A broken play in the 36th minute illustrated the struggle perfectly. Andy Williams drove down along the far sideline and laid it off to Deuchar in the box. Deuchar tried to cross to Robbie Findley, who had prime position in front of the net. His shot sailed past Findley and was retrieved by Beckerman near the endline. Beckerman tried to set up Findley in the same spot again, only to fire the ball just out of his reach.
The finishing problems did not improve for RSL in the second half. Morales took a free kick in the 49th minute and threaded it to Dema Kovalenko up top. Kovalenko rifled the ball up the middle, but could not get his shot past Hartman's hands.
RSL had another chance in the 62nd minute when Chris Wingert laid a pass off to Findley, who then turned and fired right at Hartman along the near post. The Wizards shot-stopper once again deflected the line drive away.
Beckerman tried to connect on a pair of chances in the 75th and 79th minutes but came away empty-handed each time. He fired his first shot from the middle of the box toward the near post. The ball sailed wide as it curved outside the post.
On his second attempt, Beckerman beat two defenders down into the box and slung the ball toward the far post. But he overshot his target and the ball sailed over the endline.
Kansas City nearly got on the board in the 81st minute when Arnaud fired a free kick under a jumping RSL wall. But the ball was scooped up by Rimando before it had a chance to do any real damage.
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