Grand opening, but ... Real Salt Lake fails to make up ground in MLS playoff push

It took a special moment from Clint Mathis to help change everything. With RSL increasingly under pressure, Mathis made a spectacular switch-the-field pass with the outside of his foot that immediately put the Red Bulls under pressure and led to a corner kick.

RSL defender Jamison Olave latched onto Javier Morales' ensuing corner kick, throwing his body in front of the ball and redirecting it into the back of the next.

The goal seemed to revive RSL as it outplayed the Red Bulls the rest of the way. It outshot New York 13-2 in the second half and had several decent chances at a winner. It even enjoyed a man advantage in the final six minutes plus stoppage time when New York's Juan Pietravallo was red-carded for unintentionally kicking Mathis in the top of the head in the 84th minute.

Real Salt Lake had four shots in the final six minutes with the man advantage, but none of them really threatened New York keeper Jon Conway.

"There was a lot of tension with the stadium opening up, and all that, but at the end of the day it's just a game of soccer. We just needed to come out and play and we just came out and play flat footed," said RSL's Yura Movsisyan.

Real returns to action at Rio Tinto Stadium next Saturday when it hosts FC Dallas.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com