Williams helps RSL drown Mariners

Andy Williams fired home the game-winning goal for RSL in extra time. (Kent Horner/MLS/WireImage.com)

To be sure, after a 30-minute lightning delay and another 30 minutes of overtime, Real were exhausted after earning a 2-1 victory against the United Soccer League's First Division team. It was the first Open Cup victory in Real history.

Real's Andy Williams took out his frustration on the ball in the third minute of overtime. Williams was fouled just outside the left side of the penalty area, but maintained possession, held the advantage and was on a run to the goal when the referee made the call to end the opportunity.

But on the restart, midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy touched to Williams at the top of the box, 23 yards from the goal, instead of taking the shot himself. Williams made up for the missed opportunity of only seconds earlier by shooting a missile inside the right post to put Real ahead 2-1.

After halftime, the skies showed only two lightning strikes before the 60th minute. One, however, was a half-mile away on the foothills of Salt Lake City east of Rice-Eccles Stadium, and the lightning delay was on.

Real Salt Lake head coach John Ellinger started six players that have seen limited time with the first team against other MLS teams. Jay Nolly started in goal in place of Scott Garlick, and Nikolas Besagno and Cameron Knowles started on defense in place of Eddie Pope and Daniel Torres. In the midfield, Chris Brown and Andy Williams started in place of Ballouchy and Chris Klein. And at forward Jamie Watson started in place of Jason Kreis.

Kreis, Klein and Pope were not even listed among the available 18 players for the game.

Real gave themselves a quality opportunity in the seventh minute when Watson got control of the ball after Virginia Beach goalkeeper Matthew Nelson let it go. Watson could have shot, but he passed it to Brown for a shot that bounced off Nelson and out.

The Mariners had a nice shot in the 20th minute when Gregory Simmonds left it for Steve Shak at the top of the penalty box for a straightaway shot that seemed to take Nolly by surprise. The second-year goalkeeper got his hands on it and knocked it wide and past the endline. Nolly made up for the miscue, however, by punching the corner kick long and out of the area.

In the 26th minute, Kenny Cutler got the ball forward to Watson, who was able to outrun the defense and charge towards the left post. Watson's shot was saved, but he found himself with a similar attack in the 27th minute when Brown got it to him. Watson went airborne for a header, but instead hit the ball with his hand and was shown a yellow card.

Watson's hard work paid off in the 28th minute when he was fouled in the box on yet another attack. The foul gave Real a penalty kick, which Jeff Cunningham slotted inside the right post for a 1-0 lead.

The Mariners evened it up in the 38th minute after Tim O'Neill beat Novak on a run down the left. O'Neill turned his run into the penalty area and beat Besagno, streaking in diagonally from the right, with a shot that hit the right side netting for a 1-1 tie.

Simmonds caught a break in the 44th minute when he gave Knowles a hard foul at the edge of the penalty area. Simmonds was shown a yellow card after shoving Knowles to the turf, a foul that could have been a red. Then, at the tail end of first-half stoppage time, Williams sent a corner kick to Besagno for 10-yard header that flew just wide of the right post.

Early in the second half, Carey Talley had an accurate header from inside the penalty area, but the ball bounced just to the left of the goal. Real worked to maintain possession in the second half, often passing back in an attempt to control the tempo of the game. But more often than not, Real looked disinterested before the game was delayed in the 60th minute.

In an effort to spark his team, Ellinger replaced Talley with Ballouchy during the lightning break. He also replaced Cunningham with Salt Lake City native Joey Worthen, a four-year veteran of the United Soccer Leagues.

Williams was shown a yellow card in the 70th minute for a hard foul on Craig Demmin that left Demmin on the turf for a pair of minutes. Ellinger, looking for another spark, replaced Watson for Atiba Harris in the 72nd minute. But Real still relied on rough play in the 73rd minute when Ballouchy gave a hard foul and allowed a free kick.

Virginia Beach showed some rough play in the 80th minute when Jeff Bilyk tackled Knowles with his cleats up. Bilyk was shown only a yellow card on the play. With time running out, Ellinger chose to insert fresh legs into his lineup and replaced Brown with Ryan Johnson in the 83rd minute.

Real had their best scoring opportunity in the regular flow of play in the 90th minute when Johnson ran it up the right side and crossed it across the mouth of the goal looking for Ballouchy. With Nelson out of position, Ballouchy could only manage a shot against the left post. RSL gave themselves another good look before stoppage time ended when Williams forwarded the ball with a brilliant pass for Johnson on the right; a centering pass for Harris went through the penalty area, avoiding both the 'keeper and the attacker.

Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.

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