Movsisyan shines in Real Salt Lake debut

The latest acquisition of Real Salt Lake debuted Wednesday evening against Los Angeles, and his team couldn't be more happy with the results.

Yura Movsisyan, a 20-year-old striker who netted five goals in 18 appearances with Kansas City, started and played 67 minutes for Salt Lake. He won a penalty kick, which led to his team's opening goal, and played fairly bright throughout RSL's 2-2 draw with L.A.

"He was fantastic. I thought he was very, very good," said coach Jason Kreis. "He did exactly what we asked of him, which was to play that high forward and hold the ball up and involve other players. And he did that.

"And I'm not 100 percent certain that that's really the role he wants, but he did a very good job of it tonight."

RSL acquired Movsisyan in a last-minute MLS trade-deadline deal last Friday. Kreis said RSL had been pursuing the 20-year-old for months, and Salt Lake's coach managed to swing a deal with time running out.

"We had to give up a little more than what we wanted to give, but — ultimately — we feel like we did the right thing," said Kreis.

Movsisyan wasn't expecting the move but says he's exciting about coming to Salt Lake.

"Surprised but very happy, very relieved," he said. "I wasn't getting playing time over there, and as a soccer player, as a professional, you just want to play. You just want to be out there and play."

STILL WORTH WATCHING: Los Angeles might have a new star, but its old one is still pretty good.

It wasn't all that long ago — just one season, to be exact — that Landon Donovan was the biggest headline act in MLS. Donovan, more than any other player, drew the biggest crowds to away games and was the de facto face of Major League Soccer.

Not least of all in Salt Lake City.

The average attendance inside Rice-Eccles Stadium for Donovan's previous four games in a Galaxy uniform, held in 2005 and 2006, was well over 16,000.

Of course, Donovan is no longer the star of the league, thanks to the arrival of global icon David Beckham.

More than 23,000 fans had purchased tickets to see the former Real Madrid midfielder play in what would've been his lone 2007 appearance in Salt Lake before a knee injury derailed that itinerary.

Not wanting to set a precedent, Real Salt Lake did not issue refunds to fans that didn't want to attend the Beckham-less match.