Mathis succeeds at, not with, RSL

Clint Mathis must enjoy sticking it to his former team.

The ex-Real Salt Lake midfielder scored a pair of goals and added an assist Saturday in helping New York earn a 3-3 draw against RSL at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

It was the type of production RSL fans wish they'd seen in 2005, when Mathis only scored three goals and recorded just four assists in a Real uniform. Despite that disappointing season, Mathis says he loved Salt Lake City.

"I definitely don't have any regrets here," he said. "They were some of the best times here, even though we weren't getting the results."

BACK TO BASICS: As expected, Real Salt Lake reverted back to a 4-4-2 formation in Kreis' coaching debut.

Former coach John Ellinger had implemented a 4-5-1 formation at the start of the season, hoping to build the team's attack around mercurial striker Jeff Cunningham. The move didn't pan out, however, as Real scored just twice in its opening four matches.

In his first game in charge, Kreis switched back to a 4-4-2, the formation RSL utilized much of last year. Kreis had been starting as a midfielder in the 4-5-1, and he was essentially replaced in the lineup by Atiba Harris, who partnered Cunningham up top.

CONTROVERSIAL GOAL: RSL might've never scored its third goal Saturday night had Carey Talley not been injured on the foul that resulted in the 90th-minute penalty kick.

He was on the sideline for nearly two minutes being treated for a knock to the head, but once he was ready to go, the fourth official waived him onto the field taking advantage of the substitution-on-the-fly rule.

Talley stepped right onto the pitch and quickly took the ball away from a surprised New York player who thought he was still on the sideline.

Talley quickly passed the ball to Adu, who was credited with the game-tying assist on Chris Brown's goal.

BIG INTERNATIONAL: Real Salt Lake announced that it will play the Chinese National Team on Thursday, June 7 at Rice-Eccles Stadium at 7 p.m. The match is part of China's three-game tour of the United States.

Tickets can be purchased at www.realsaltlake.com. Season ticket holders will used the ticket already listed as the match with Plaza Amador on June 7.

---

E-mail: jedward@desnews.com

---

E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com