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If Real Salt Lake fans need a nickname for Yura Movsisyan, they may want to use Totò, after Italy's 1990 World Cup hero Salvatore "Totò" Schillaci, whose opportune goals carried Il Tricolore nearly 20 years ago.
A week after Movsisyan's dramatic last minute tying goal that earned Real a spot in the playoffs, Movsisyan scored again in the dying moments of regulation. This time, his goal broke a 0 - 0 tie and gave Real the victory in the club's first ever playoff game. Despite the score, however, the game was far from close.
Real controlled the game from the start, with Javier Morales figuring heavily on the match and Real nearly opening the score on multiple occasions in the first 10 minutes. Chivas USA struggled in the midfield from the beginning. Sloppy passing and too many give aways made it difficult to contain the Real attack or generate much offense. The red-and-white's best opportunity of the half came at the 14th minute when Sacha Kljestan and Justin Braun combined on a counter attack. Kljestan had started the break and got the ball back from Braun at the top of the box. Kljestan got a good look at goal but his shot was wide left.
In contrast, Real was much more organized and efficient throughout the game, resulting in numerous opportunities. Chivas defender Francisco Mendoza broke up what appeared to be the clearest opportunity for goal in the first half after interrupting a Real breakaway. Chivas 'keeper Zack Thorton also made a solid stop on a free kick from Real's Clint Mathis that was headed for the goal. Had it not been for those two defensive stops, Chivas could have easily gone into the break down 2 goals.
Real started the second half exactly where they left off before the break and then turned it up a bit more. Starting out at a furious pace, Movsisyan and Mathis combined on a great give and go within seconds of the restart. Mathis received the ball just inside the box on a clever back heel pass from Movsisyan, then took a shot at the far bottom corner of the Chivas goal. The shot looked on track, but Thorton stuck out his hands and managed to redirect the ball at the last possible moment for a corner kick. Morales took the ensuing corner kick which was then headed into the Chivas goal with Thorton caught completely out of position. Chivas forward Ante Razov came to the rescue and cleared the ball off the goal line and preserved the score at zero.
The near misses were starting to pile up, but shortly after Razov's save, a rare span of end to end action followed. However, that was short lived and Real would again take control of the game within minutes. Real's offense would eventually generate a total of 21 shots for the game, 7 times more than Chivas. The combination of Thorton's hands, a bit of luck and bad aim on the part of Real shooters were the only reasons for the score still being tied at 0 - 0 before Movsisyan's goal late in the game.
Movsisyan's moment came in the dying seconds of regulation. Morales had received a throw in deep within the Chivas penalty box and pushed forward. Morales then found Movsisyan in front of the goal, who then redirected the ball into the far corner of the goal with a nifty back heel.
The win gives Real an advantage in the home-and-home series and forces Chivas' hand for the second leg next Saturday night at 7:30 PM at the Home Depot Center. Chivas will need to score at least 2 goals -- more if it allows Real to score again -- if it hopes to keep its MLS Cup dreams alive. This predicament should make for a great game on Saturday.
Photo by fabbio via Flickr
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