Philadelphia at Real Salt Lake: Report Card

Collen Warner - Warner has been something of a disappointment this season. Not because he hasn't shown shades of brilliance, but because he's shown shades of brilliance. It's clear what he can become if he chooses. Saturday night might have been the night he chose to accept the challenge. His defense must have made Jason Kreis wish he hadn't pulled him when Real seemed unwilling to close out the last 10 minutes of the game with gusto. His touch as always was very good but it was his much improved passing that made the difference Saturday. Still much to prove, but he seems to be on the right track, finally. Grade: B+

Paulo Araujo Jr. - Fans were delighted to see Paulo Jr. for the first time in five months and he showed better fitness than might have been expected. It was a nice surprise to see some chemistry between Paulo Jr. and Fabian Espindola. He recorded an assist off his pass back to Beckerman on the short corner in the 18th minute. Not bad for his first game back. Grade: B

Fabian Espindola - Espindola continued his terrific form Saturday night by making play after play that kept Philly on their heels and the ball in front of their goal. In perhaps his best play, Fabi took one for the team in the 38th minute when he used his face to bring down a poor switching pass by Philadelphia right in front of their box that gave him an open lane to the goal. His chip over the keeper went wide right, and was indicative of his night. Jaw dropping plays with no pay-off. He might not have the goals to show it, but Saturday showed that Javier Morales is not the only Argentine star on this team. Grade: A

Substitutions

Cody Arnoux - Arnoux saw his RSL debut Saturday night when he was subbed in at the 66th minute for Paulo Jr. and immediately made a positive impact. His fresh legs and ability to win the ball at midfield created a couple of opportunities for RSL's other striker, Fabian Espindola and showed that the erstwhile Everton trainee could be a very nice surprise find for Garth Lagerway and company. Grade: B+

Ned Grabavoy - It may have been the timing, but when Grabavoy joined the fray, it seemed as though Real lost some momentum. While he may have been asked to play deep by Kreis, Grabavoy's deep positioning along with that of the RSL defensive line made for a few uneasy minutes near the end of the game when Philadelphia was allowed to maintain too much possession in the final third of the field. Real bent but never broke so perhaps Grabavoy did just exactly what was needed in his first game back from injury since late June. Grade: B

Blake Wagner - Blake Wagner was signed by Real Salt Lake a few days after Chris Wingert went down with his broken wrist. He made his RSL debut for the ailing Russell less than a minute before the final whistle. Grade: Incomplete