Real Salt Lake: Grabavoy excited about new team

SANDY — Now that's the Real Salt Lake that Ned Grabavoy remembers playing against.

Sitting on the bench for the first 75 minutes Thursday and watching his new team dismantle Columbus — one of his former teams — it reminded him of all the impressions he had about RSL last year while playing with San Jose.

"The feeling I got from this team last year playing against them they're relentless. That's in all facets of the game, defensively they're gonna tackle hard and run hard the entire game, and they're a team that's very sharp in front of the goal," said Grabavoy.

By the time he finally stepped on the field in place of Clint Mathis for his RSL debut, the team had already raced to a 4-1 lead and was well on its way to a comfortable victory.

"It was good, especially after last week, but it's just one game," he said.

Grabavoy admits he's still trying to get acclimated to his new team and his new surroundings, but was adamant that he's just as excited now as he was the first day he joined RSL after he was surprisingly released by San Jose midway through preseason.

"I was shocked I was let go, but a new opportunity was there for me," said Grabavoy, 25, who is now with his fourth team in six MLS seasons.

He spent the first 21/2 years of his career with Los Angeles, before being shipped to Columbus for a year and a half.

Last year, he was a key contributor for the expansion San Jose Earthquakes.

SECOND BEST: Robbie Findley's goal in the second minute Thursday was the second-fastest goal in team history.

Back on Aug. 29, 2007, RSL defender Matias Mantilla headed home a Javier Morales corner kick in the opening minute of a 3-1 victory over Kansas City.

The next quickest goal after Findley's was a third-minute strike by Brian Dunseth in a 3-0 victory over FC Dallas back in July 2005.

FREE BOUNCE BACK: Prior to Thursday's opener, Real Salt Lake offered its fans something it called ticket insurance.

The club stated that if it either rained or snowed between 6 and 10 p.m., everyone's used ticket would become a voucher for a free ticket for the Aug. 15 home match against Houston.

Sure enough, at 8:45 p.m. a light drizzle started coming down as the fans were sent home with a victory and a free ticket.

E-MAIL: jedward@desnews.com