RSL aided by keeper's gaffe

Eddie Pope's game-winning goal Saturday went down on the stat sheet as unassisted, which is a disservice to Alecko Eskandarian, because he made it all possible — twice.

Shortly before halftime, with Real Salt Lake trailing the Galaxy 1-0, Eskandarian whipped a dangerous free kick on frame that keeper Steve Cronin did well to save. Cronin did, however, give up a relatively harmless rebound at the far post that eventually rolled out of bounds.

RSL took notice of the sequence, and particularly the direction of Cronin's rebound, just in case a similar opportunity presented itself later in the Carson, Calif., match. That moment came in the 71st minute on an identical free kick for Eskandarian at the opposite end of the stadium. RSL purposely overloaded the area where Cronin surrendered the last rebound, and amazingly it paid off.

As soon as Eskandarian teed off on the ball, Pope made a darting run toward the post. Sure enough, Cronin allowed another rebound this time in a much more advantageous spot for the visitors. Pope beat a defender to the ball, and even though Cronin saved that initial point-blank shot, the rebound came again to Pope, who tapped it in while falling down just two yards from goal.

It was Pope's first goal for RSL in 56 matches, and he celebrated like it, running toward the sideline and leaping into the air with his right fist pumped proudly.

"It's a very good thing to see him get what he deserves, because he has worked extremely hard, and he's played very well all year," said RSL coach Jason Kreis. "For him to get the decider, he's another person who deserves the reward."

It wasn't just the goal, either. Sure, RSL was lucky not to fall behind two goals on several occasions, including Landon Donovan's saved penalty kick and Cobi Jones kissing a shot off the crossbar, but through it all Pope fought and scrapped for every ball to help Real secure its first two-game winning streak of the season.

Pope will never admit it, because he's the type of player who insists he treats every match seriously, but he seems to have upped the intensity lately, playing like a guy who sees his impending retirement getting closer and closer.

"He wants to go out with a good season, and he's having a great season despite our results," said Real keeper Nick Rimando. "He's going out and fighting, and it's not just in the games. He's one of the older guys on the team, but he's doing it in practice."

Pope, 33, has announced he's retiring at the end of the season, and following Saturday's 2-1 victory, RSL only has nine matches remaining. The team needs seven or eight wins down the stretch to have an outside shot at the playoffs, and even though it's a long shot, Pope doesn't plan on going quietly.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com