By. Carson Lantz
Real Salt Lake finally returned home for their home opener for the 2024 MLS season, facing off against Western Conference foe, LAFC. Fans had been eagerly anticipating the men in Claret and Cobalt return after only securing one point from their first two games of the season. Not only was this their first home game of the season, but there was also a little twist added, with snow, hail, rain, and 60-mile-per-hour wind. This game was quite eventful.
Pablo Masteroni’s Starting XI featured Zac Macmath in goal, with Bode Hidalgo and Andrew Brody retaining their spots as outside backs, Justen Glad and Marcelo Silva forming the center-back pairing, Braian Ojeda and Emeka Eneil in midfield once again, Matt “The Tree” Crooks as the attacking midfielder, Andres Gomez and Diego Luna as the wingers, and, of course, Captain Chico Arango as the lone striker. Masteroni opted to make only two changes from the last game, with Pablo Ruiz and Brayan Vera starting on the bench. No formation changes were made as RSL lined up in a 4-2-3-1.
Steve Cherundolo’s Starting XI included French Legend Hugo Lloris in goal, with Ryan Hollingshead and Omar Campos as the outside backs, Aaron Long and Jesus Murillo as the center-backs, Eduard Atuesta, Ilie Sanchez, and Timothy Tillman in the middle three, 2023 golden boot winner Denis Bouanga and Cristian Oliveria lining up as the wingers, and Mateusz Bogusz as the striker. Cherundolo had his team lineup in a 4-3-3.
Kickoff time was supposed to be at 12 p.m., but due to weather problems, the game was delayed until 12:40 p.m. Both clubs announced on social media that they were worried about debris potentially harming players, staff, and fans, and the significant gust of wind carrying lots of dust was also a factor. However, this wouldn’t be the only delay as the game was pushed back to 2:10 p.m. for the second time! Finally, the game kicked off, but just three minutes into the game, a lightning delay occurred. First-half action would finally continue with players returning to a field covered in snow at 3:05 p.m.
The first half was dominated by Real Salt Lake. LAFC was caught off guard by the snowstorm and had a hard time adjusting to the weather conditions. RSL brought the pressure early, with Chicho Arango finding the feet of Andres Gomez in the 18th minute. Gomez outmuscled opposing player Omar Campos to beat him to the ball, resulting in a 1v1 standoff with Hugo Lloris. Andres Gomez stayed composed and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the
goal, putting RSL in a one-goal lead over LAFC. Real Salt Lake wasn’t intimidated by LAFC and demonstrated it by quickly asserting dominance.
Andres Gomez’s contribution in this game wouldn’t end there, though. In the 41st minute, a ball lobbed into the box to hot prospect Diego Luna was calmly controlled and laid off to Andres Gomez. Gomez found himself wide open at the penalty spot, where he once again calmly slotted in a one-touch shot, this time into the bottom right corner. The young duo of Gomez and Luna gave RSL a two-goal advantage over LAFC, making Real Salt Lake look dominant and leaving LAFC struggling. Halftime was approaching quickly, and both teams were eager to add a goal to their scoresheet. For a third time, the ball would be at the feet of Andres Gomez, who found himself again breaking LAFC’s defense. He sent a low cross into the box where he found Chicho making a perfectly timed run to tap the ball past Hugo Lloris. Pablo Masteroni’s men now led 3-0 over Steve Cherundolo’s side.
RSL put in a perfectly laid-out performance in the first half as they absolutely dominated LAFC. To add to that domination was a 62 percent possession and 8 shots (3 on target) in the first half. LAFC was not only visibly struggling but also statistically struggling, managing only 38 percent possession and 3 shots (0 on target). Denis Bouanga and Co. couldn’t find any rhythm versus RSL in the first half.
The second half wasn’t as exciting compared to the first half, with zero goals being scored. Real Salt Lake would be bombarded by 13 shots from LA, but goalkeeper Zac Macmath kept making save after save to protect his clean sheet. The only notable event occurred in the 85th minute when midfielder Braian Ojeda went into a challenge with Timothy Tillman, cleating Tillman on the ankle. This led to Braian Ojeda being shown a second yellow resulting in him being sent off with a red card. Ojeda would now be absent for next week’s game versus Rocky Mountain rival Colorado Rapids. After that, the game would end in favor of RSL as they comfortably brushed LAFC aside with a 3-0 win, securing their first three points of the season.
This game would cause lots of controversy from LAFC, with head coach Steve Cherundolo stating, “It was an absolute joke that we had to play today. The game could have and should have been called off. It was an absolute disgrace to play.” Not only did the head coach have something to say, but LAFC captain Ryan Hollingshead also chimed in, saying, “Today’s game versus Real Salt Lake was not football and will be taken to the MLSPA over safety concerns.” LAFC didn’t like being told to continue play in an uncomfortable environment, especially as they’re based in California where they rarely see snow. But they don’t seem to take into account that RSL plays yearly in the snow and has yet to complain about playing in “unsafe” snow.
So many positives came from this game for Real Salt Lake, with one of them being Andres Gomez. This game could prove to be a key game for Gomez to have a breakout season for RSL
and finally put the MLS on notice. Ending the game with a brace and assist, Andres Gomez was, for sure, my man of the match. Other positives to add are that Emeka Eneli once again put up a good performance and is seeing himself become a key player for the team, Chicho Arango has now scored in back-to-back games, showing signs of becoming that long-awaited consistent RSL striker, the team got its first shutout of the year, Crooks looked good in unwanted weather and continues to impress fans, Diego Luna picked up his first assist of the season, and lastly, Bode Hidalgo is looking very promising at right back. Real Salt Lake will be hoping to build on all these positives in next week’s match versus rivals Colorado Rapids on March 8, 2024. RSL will be looking to keep hold of the Rocky Mountain Cup.