Drilling down on: at Real Salt Lake 2, Colorado 0

Man of the Match: Fabian Espindola, for the 75 minutes he was in, was just too much for Colorado. You’d think a defense with Marvell Wynne wouldn’t have trouble keeping up with anybody, but Espindola’s speed combined with a relentless work rate to snap Colorado. A lazy backpass from Wynne late in the first half led to the winning goal, with Espindola beating Matt Pickens to a ball that ended up as a tap in for Alvaro Saborio.

Packaged for takeaway:

• Colorado seemed disorganized at the back all night. Their normal central pair of Marvell Wynne and Drew Moor was broken up with Moor at right back, Tyrone Marshall taking his spot at left center half. With new acquisition Tyson Wahl at left back, the Rapids were without their first choice at three positions.
• That may also explain why Alvaro Saborio had a standout night, but don’t undersell the Costa Rican’s effort. Like Espindola, his work produced a goal for a teammate, with the RSL number nine moving Marshall of the ball late in the match, setting up an insurance tally for Will Johnson.
• Espindola and Saborio’s were part of a series of good performances from RSL players. Javier Morales is slowly returning to his pre-ankle break self. Johnson had a goal, Yordany Alvarez had a strong night filling in for Kyle Beckerman, and the back five was their usual, impenetrable selves, holding Colorado without a shot on goal.
• All those stand out performances would have provided to a more lopsided score on another night. Colorado, however, didn’t play bad, and were it not for their two brain freezes at the back, they may have been able to hold out. There was little chance of them scoring, however, given how conservatively Oscar Pareja’s team played.
• Edu started alone up top, with Omar Cummings coming off the bench. When the Jamaican international came on in the second half, he showed why he should have played 90. Martin Rivero was supposed to provide the link to Edu, but it never materialized. Neither Tony Cascio and Jaime Castrillion put a shot toward goal (let alone on).
• Just as Columbus’s Saturday win was very Crew-y, Real Salt Lake’s was very RSL-y. It was a controlled performance, one where they kept their opponents under constant pressure (without leaving themselves exposed), ultimately forcing some decisive mistakes.
• The result: RSL retains the Rocky Mountain Cup, given to the winner of the teams’ season series. It is the sixth straight season Real Salt Lake has claimed the honor.
• With the win, RSL opens up an eight point lead on Seattle and Vancouver for second place in the West. They are also tied for the second-best record in Major League Soccer. While securing that spot wouldn’t give them home field in a potential MLS Cup final, it would allow them to control their own destiny. After  all, they would get their chance at the Earthquakes before the December championship game.