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SANDY — Veteran defender Chris Wingert made his 2013 debut Saturday night for Real Salt Lake, starting and posting the full 90 minutes, as Real Salt Lake took a 2-0 victory over Major League Soccer Western Conference opponent the Vancouver Whitecaps.
“I was really pleased to have him out there,” said RSL head coach Jason Kreis. “He’s a steady influence, I think, on the rest of the group. He puts himself in some really good spots just to intercept passes and not have to make one versus one defensive plays. Really pleased to have him back and pleased with his performance tonight.”
Up until this point this season, Wingert has been recovering from a right metatarsal injury, which was suffered last December. And until Saturday night, Wingert had only seen a handful of reserve league minutes over the past few weeks as he worked to return to the first team.
“It felt great,” said Wingert. “That’s why you play. I needed those reserve games because obviously I wasn’t going to be that sharp and that fit after having a few months out injured, but at the same time we’re playing to play in the first-team games and to be out and try and help the team earn points. So my whole focus the past four months has been to get back out there and to be in good form so I can help the team win, and fortunately we got the win tonight.”
The Claret and Cobalt goals on the night came from young midfielder Luis Gil in the 47th minute and playmaker Javier Morales in the 71st minute of play. Gil’s goal was his second on the season, both of which have been headers, and Morales’ was also his second on the season. RSL forward Joao Plata assisted on both goals, which were his first this season that didn’t involve striker Alvaro Saborio.
“All in all I think a pretty nice night,” said Kreis. “Another shutout, so you’ve got to feel good about that.”
With the shutout, RSL veteran goalkeeper Nick Rimando posted his third shutout of the season, 102 overall, along with one assist in the match on Gil’s early second-half goal.
“There’s a lot of reason that we like Nick Rimando, but one of the big reasons I like him is how good he is with his feet,” said Kreis. “He can oftentimes start counter attacks for us and make good tactical decisions with the ball when he has it, and he can be a real steady influence for us because we always feel like we have an extra man to pass back to. Kudos to him and what a great, great pass (tonight).”
RSL defender Carlos Salcedo also received his first minutes of the 2013 season Saturday night as he came off the bench for Plata in the 89th minute of play, making both his RSL and MLS debut.
The win over Vancouver finished up the Salt Lake club’s three-match homestand where the Claret and Cobalt posted a 2-1-0 record, adding six of the nine points to its season — posting its other win over Chivas USA and a 2-0 loss to the L.A. Galaxy.
“I think we should be miserable when we lose and we should be happy when we win,” said Kreis. “We should feel good about it. Not too good about it, but we should feel good about it at least for overnight and we wake up tomorrow and we focus on the next game.”
RSL now goes to three matches on the road in a 12-day span beginning Wednesday, May 8. The Salt Lake club will first face the New England Revolution before taking on the Montreal Impact May 11 and finishing off at Chivas USA May 19.
Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
