Real Salt Lake: Russell returns to starting line

SANDY — Robbie Russell made his return to the Real Salt Lake starting lineup Saturday night at the expense of an ill teammate.

Chris Wingert was likely penciled in as the starter against league-leading Houston earlier in the week, but an illness kept him out of the RSL lineup. His absence opened the door for Russell's return following a two-game hiatus.

Russell missed RSL's most recent matches against Chicago and Seattle after picking up a hip injury in the opening minutes of an early August game against FC Dallas. He said it was good to get back on the field.

"Felt pretty good the first half, little tweaks here and there, but that's expected," said Russell.

Russell has missed six total games this year, including the first three of the season as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery. He also missed RSL's 2-0 win at Los Angeles due to a red-card suspension.

Wingert still played the game's final seven minutes as a substitute, but a nasty bout of food poisoning earlier in the week had weakened him too much to be considered for the starting lineup.

Wingert actually replaced Russell, who was noticeably fatigued.

"I thought he had a very, very strong match. He ran out of gas, as can be expected when coming back from an injury," said RSL coach Jason Kreis.

WEEKEND OFF: Clint Mathis and Jamison Olave won't be accompanying Real Salt lake to New England next weekend.

Olave earned the automatic one-game suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season on a tough challenge in the midfield in the 30th minute. It's far from his first suspension, though. He's been suspended two other times this season because of red cards.

Mathis was doomed to a suspension in the fourth minute when he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season. Amazingly, he compounded the matter by picking up his second yellow card of the match shortly before halftime. Mathis will serve the red-card suspension next week with his team in New England, and when he returns he'll still have be sitting on four yellow cards and one away from another suspension.

PLAYING IT SAFE: Following Saturday's match, Kreis was asked to comment on an official who called 29 fouls and handed out six yellows and two red cards.

"No comment," was all Kreis had to say on the matter.

For an individual who's missed seven games due to various suspensions in his short coaching career, keeping silent was probably a wise move.

SEASON DEBUT: Ryan Cochrane made his first start of the season for Houston on Saturday, just two days after the team acquired him in a trade from San Jose.

Cochrane was previously a member of Houston in 2006 and 2007, but San Jose snagged him from the Dynamo in the 2008 expansion draft.

e-mail: jedward@desnews.com