The last time that Real Salt Lake competed in the CONCACAF Champions League they were in the 2011 final, which they lost to Monterrey. On Tuesday they made their return to the competition, but it didn't go the way they wanted. They conceded in the 14th minute then had a man sent off in the 58th minute as Herediano topped their MLS opponents, 1-0, in Costa Rica.
Herediano's goal came courtesy of a mistake by the usually dependable Kyle Beckerman. A slip and fall by the midfielder opened up space in the middle of the field, which Elias Aguilar stepped into and took advantage of, knocking his shot past Nick Rimando for the only tally of the match.
While it may have taken a miscue to get it, the goal was completely deserved for Herediano. They dominated the early part of the match, earned corners and created chances so when they scored, it felt fair.
RSL's best chance of the match came in the 30th minute when Fabian Espindola beat the goalkeeper, but just missed the post. Besides that, they struggled to create chances and when Nat Borchers was sent off just before the hour mark for a two-footed tackle, their hopes were extinguished. Things did manage to get even worse for Salt Lake too, as Jamison Olave went off with an injury to further weaken their defense.
All in all, it was a disastrous return to the competition for RSL as they lost, had Borchers sent off and suspended for their next match and saw Olave get hurt. Meanwhile, Herediano have all three points and are now the favorites to come out of Group 2.
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