Real fall 2-0 to San Sebastian (2nd Div) in Spain

From real Salt Lake Public Relations

MADRID - Real Salt Lake allowed goals in the 27th and 31st minutes against the run of play to fall 0-2 vs. Spanish Segunda B division club San Sebastian Thursday, in RSL's final contest at Ciudad Real Madrid in the Valdebebas region of the Spanish capitol.

"We weren't able to connect on the final pass today, and our combination play wasn't as strong as it had been for the last week," said RSL Head Coach John Ellinger. "However, this is certainly the highest quality of competition we have seen in the preseason in any of our three years, and this loss should remind us of all the things we need to do to succeed. This has been a very successful trip; results don't matter until April 7."

RSL started the game in a 4-4-2 formation, with GK Nick Rimando behind a new-look back four, as DF Chris Lancos joined the selection on the right next to Eddie Pope and Daniel Torres, pushing Jack Stewart to left back. Captain Jason Kreis and Carey Talley assumed their usual midfield positions, with Chris Klein on the right and Freddy Adu as a pinched-in left midfielder, behind front-runners Luis Tejada and defending MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham.

Cunningham came out of the gates fast, creating several chances in the first 15 minutes. Just 2 minutes in, a nifty give-and-go in the box with Tejada set up the Panamanian with a point-blank effort, but the offside flag was raised. Five minutes later, Adu and Talley executed a give-and-go at the top of the box, with Adu flipping the ball up in the air, over the defender and to Cunningham's feet, but his shot was saved by the onrushing San Sebastian 'keeper. In the 15th minute, it was Tejada posting up and dropping the ball back to Klein, who found Cunningham and ran onto the return ball, but his shot was deflected wide for an RSL corner.

RSL kept the pressure on for another 10 minutes, with Kreis, Lancos and Tejada each sending shots high or wide. In the 27th minute, the "SanSe" counter enabled forward Jusue to cut behind the RSL defense and go in alone on Rimando, who had no chance for the point-blank save.

The game was nearly tied up 1-1 in the 29th minute following RSL's best opportunity of the game, with Cunningham playing setup man at the top of the circle and freeing Tejada over the top. The Panamanian's shot was saved inside the six, but Tejada tracked down the rebound and sent the ball across the face of the goal, but a sliding Freddy Adu at the far post could not connect with the ball, which rolled harmlessly out of bounds.

In the 31st minute, a long diagonal ball for San Sebastian pressured Jack Stewart in the back, and he tackled the dribbler to force a corner kick. On the ensuing corner, a deep cross was centered back across the face of the goal at eye level, with a SanSe player knocking it in to put the Spanish team up 2-0.

At halftime, GK Chris Seitz replaced Rimando and Ivory Coast trialist Jean-Martial Kipre replaced Tejada, with Kipre filling in at left midfield and Adu moving to forward. Just three minutes into the 2nd half, Adu combined with Cunningham to free #90 in the box, but Cunningham's shot deflected off the 'keeper for a corner. On the next play, Pope's header was saved.

Kipre got involved in the game beginning in the 51st minute, taking a long, looping ball out of the back from Stewart and running it up the left side, then sending it across the box to Klein, who one-touched a centering pass to Adu. Ten minutes later, Kreis and Cunningham pinged it around in the box to Kipre out left, and the French-speaking player found Adu alone 25 yards out, but his long-range blast went high.

The final 25 minutes were all RSL, with Kipre, Cunningham, Adu, Kreis and 72nd-minute substitute Atiba Harris probing the San Sebastian defense from all angles. Despite the physical, destructive defense by SanSe designed to disrupt any flow, RSL forced saves from the 'keeper and earned numerous corner kicks, but could not find the back of the net.

RSL returns to the United States Friday night, with several players present Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the "Pick It! Ticket! Kick It!" open house event from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. MT. After training in Salt Lake Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, RSL travels to Los Angeles for five days, playing CD Chivas USA Saturday night, March 17, at John Elway Stadium in Granada Hills, Calif., before a week in Fresno, Calif.

RSL 0:2 San Sebastian

Scoring Summary:
SS: Roman - 27'
SS: Manu - 31'

RSL Lineup:
Nick Rimando (Chris Seitz 46); Chris Lancos (Atiba Harris 72), Eddie Pope, Daniel Torres, Jack Stewart; Chris Klein, Carey Talley, Jason Kreis, Freddy Adu; Jeff Cunningham, Luis Tejada (Jean-Martial Kipre 46)

Real Salt Lake tie 1-1 with Real Madrid Third Team

From Real Salt Lake Public Relations
MADRID - Real Salt Lake MF Duke Hashimoto slammed home a 15-yard blast from the center of the box in the 84th minute to tie the score at 1-1 vs. the Real Madrid "C" team Wednesday, with both teams enduring 40-yard winds at Ciudad Real Madrid in the Valdebebas region of the Spanish capitol.

FW Kyle Brown, acquired by Real Salt Lake in early January on a draft-day transaction from the New England Revolution, created the Hashimoto chance when he took a clearance from RSL GK Kyle Reynish on the left touchline just on the attacking side of midfield. Brown, a former all-state H-back in Texas high school football, blazed into the box, juking one defender and twisting another on the touchline before laying back to Hashimoto.

Brown and Hashimoto each saw additional chances in the final minutes to try and give RSL the win. In the 86th minute, Brown posted up in the box with his back to the goal, received a ball from Hashimoto and turned and shot high and right. In the 89th minute, Hashimoto pulled the trigger from 20 yards out, just narrowly missing the left post.

"We looked much better in the second half after a sluggish start," said RSL Head Coach John Ellinger. "I'm particularly pleased with some of the young guys, new to the team - Kirby, Curfman, Kyle Brown and Chris Lancos all have looked really good. We are deeper, younger, faster and stronger than we have been in our three years. Now we need to continue getting everyone on the same page."

RSL started the game in a 4-4-2 formation, with defending NCAA College Cup Champion 'keeper Reynish backstopping the squad behind fellow 2007 draftees Steven Curfman (Wake Forest) and Dustin Kirby (Ohio State) in the center of the defense with Cottonwood High's Joey Worthen on the left and Ivory Coast trialist Jean-Martial Kipre on the right. Hashimoto shared space in the midfield with veteran Kenny Cutler, with Kyle Brown on the right and Andy Williams on the left. Up top, captain Chris Brown ran alongside Atiba Harris.

RSL fell into a hole early, with the RM "C" team taking the early lead in the 9th minute. Following a clearance by the RSL defense, the ball fell to Madrid's left wing, collected by Juanmi. With no pressure coming from the defense, Juanmi took two light touches and unleashed a 35-yard laser towards the near post. The shot could not be corralled by Reynish, and the "C" squad was up 1-0 just 10 minutes in.

The remainder of the first half saw few opportunities created by either side, and turned into somewhat of a chippy affair late in the first half, beginning in the 36th minute when Kipre won a ball by picking Toto's pocket, with Toto responding with a forearm shiver to the face. No foul was called and the teams played on for a couple of minutes, when Jose Callejon took down Chris Brown from behind. Again, no foul was called, and Brown took matters into his own hands, returning the favor to Callejon in the 41st minute. Finally, the whistle was blown, but no cards were shown. RSL's finest sequence came with just a minute left in the half, as Kipre sent a long ball to Kyle Brown, who found a streaking Harris in the box. Harris laid the ball back to Cutler, but his shot was snuffed just before intermission.

The second half saw much more rhythm from both teams, as Jamie Watson, Willis Forko and Chris Lancos entered the game, pushing Worthen to left mid and Kyle Brown up top. Reynish came up with two big saves in the 46th and 49th minute to keep the score 1-1, and Chris Brown's hard work created several free kick opportunities around the box.

In both the 61st and 82nd minutes, the same Reynish-Hashimoto-Kyle Brown combinations created opportunities for RSL, but free kicks from 20 and 25 yards out went high. In the 73rd minute, Kyle Brown played a great ball into his namesake Chris, but the latter Brown's shot was wide right.

RSL returns to Ciudad Real Madrid Thursday for its final session at 6:00 p.m. Madrid time for a game against Spanish Segunda B San Sebastian. The team then departs for the United States Friday morning, arriving in Salt Lake Friday night at 11:00 p.m. MT.

RM C 1:1 RSL

Scoring Summary:
RM: Juanmi - 9'
RSL: Hashimoto (K. Brown, Reynish) - 84'

RSL Lineup:
Kyle Reynish; Jean-Martial Kipre (Willis Forko 46), Dustin Kirby, Steven Curfman (Nik Besagno 72), Joey Worthen; Kyle Brown, Kenny Cutler, Duke Hashimoto, Andy Williams (Chris Lancos 46); Atiba Harris (Jamie Watson), Chris Brown

Real Madrid Castilla Lineup:
Kilo (Reguero 46), Velayos, Giradles, Parra, Jordi, Prosi, Jose Callejón, Toto, Vazquez, Jose Manuel, Juanmi

Real Salt lack training in Spain.

Real Salt Lake have moved their preseason to Spain, where they will train at the facility of their namesake, Real Madrid. RSL will play three or four matches during their 10-day trip and will also be in the famed Estadio Santiago Bernabeau for Real's La Liga contest against Getafe on Saturday.

Real loses in the 90th minute to the Fire

Real lost their latest preseaon game to the Fire 2-1 on a last minute goal by Jefff Curtin.

Real's lineup for the game was:

Real Salt Lake Lineup (3-5-2): GK-Kyle Reynish (Chase Harrison 45), D-Jack Stewart (Jared Kent 45), D-Eddie Pope (Haddon Kirk 45), D-Danny Torres (Scott Palguta 45), M-Chris Klein (Kevin Novak 45) (Steven Curfman 80), M-Carey Talley (Brian Gil 45), M-Jason Kreis (Kenny Cutler 45), M-Freddy Adu (Duke Hashimoto 45), M-Mehdi Ballouchy (Willis Forko 45) (Joey Worthen 80), F-Jeff Cunningham (Kyle Brown 45), F-Andy Williams (Chris Brown 45).

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