Real Salt Lake picked up their first defeat of the 2016 MLS regular season this past Saturday prior to hosting the Houston Dynamo at Rio Tinto Stadium on April 30 (8:30 p.m. CT; HoustonDynamo.com). RSL fell 5-2 to the LA Galaxy after starting the season with four wins and two draws, scoring first in the 16th minute before allowing four first half goals from LA.
Joao Plata has led the team through the early parts of the season with four goals and four assists, with another two goals and two assists from Burrito Martinez. Here's what Owen Coyle had to say about the RSL squad:
“They look exciting and have some very good players. But for us, that’s a game we will really look forward to, because we felt that we underachieved in our performance against Salt Lake [last September]. So we will look to get a little bit back after underperforming last year. They are a very good side, but when we go there we—I’ll certainly understand after my first year, the altitude and everything else that comes with it—we’ll be prepared to go there and get points on the road.
"Javier Morales has been a wonderful player in the league and continues to show that. [Joao] Plata is a very good player, who has speed and a low center of gravity. [Jamison] Olave at the back is a big threat on set plays and such forth. As most teams do, they have a real threat in the wide areas and they spent money, bringing in Yura Movsisyan [on loan from Spartak Moscow as a Designated Player], who is a wonderful player. We will have real desire and motivation going into that game to get points on the road and place us where we want to be in the conference.”
