Real Salt Lake nets exhibition draw

SANDY — There was not much friendly about it.

Real Salt Lake's 1-1 draw with Chivas de Guadalajara Wednesday night got a little chippy. But the extra feistiness may have been just what the home squad needed.

"We definitely wanted to come out and show that there is no quit in this team," said backup goalkeeper Chris Seitz, who started the game. "It does happen where teams kind of get after each other, but we weren't about to back down. We knew we needed to go out and prove that we are the type of team that can put up a fight, playing I mean."

The first 45 minutes saw 10 fouls by each side and a couple of scuffles that nearly came to blows. In first-half injury time, Chivas' Edgar Solis and Real's Jamison Olave took things too far and each were ejected for violent conduct. For the game, RSL finished with four yellows and a red card and Chivas had three yellows and a red.

Along with the fight and desire shown by Salt Lake, the team was looking for a strong start after having given up two goals in the first 10 minutes of each of its last two league games — a 3-2 loss at Houston and a 3-0 loss on the road to Dallas. The start was indeed a positive, as the opening 45 minutes were all RSL.

"I was pleased overall, but most importantly the first half, especially the way we started. The first 20-30 minutes we looked very, very good," said coach Jason Kreis.

The team clamped down so hard defensively and was so well organized, it didn't allow a single shot on goal in the opening half.

"I thought the defense did a great job of not letting them get anything going," said Seitz. "They were so good that I really didn't have anything to do back there, which is a good thing. All the guys followed their responsibilities and they really committed to doing their job."

Offensively, Real created some quality chances. It outshot Chivas 7-0 in the opening half and 12-5 overall.

Yura Movsisyan helped create Real's early lead in the 16th minute by his hustle. He knocked the ball away from a defender after tracking him for a long distance. His toe-poke went to the feet of Fabian Espindola, who after a couple of touches toward the middle, fired a left-footed blast from 20 yards low and into the lower left corner of the net.

"Yura did a great job getting the ball away," said the Argentine forward. "I got it, and I wanted to give it back to Yura, but the defender cut that off, so I just took the shot and it turned out to be a good one."