Real Salt Lake fell to Inter Milan by a score of 2-1 in an international friendly match between the MLS and Italian Serie A teams on Tuesday night. Both teams played most of their starters in the early part of the match before turning to their reserves. It was during this time that Real’s Jordan Allen made his mark.
Moments after colliding with Inter Milan goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, Allen capitalized on a corner kick opportunity in the 18th minute. Inter Milan failed to clear the ball and Allen was able to tap in the ball for the score.
With some substitutions coming in for Real Salt Lake in the 30th minute, Inter Milan looked to capitalize on scoring on more inexperienced players. And capitalize they did. Just as it looked like Real would enter halftime with a 1-0 lead, Inter Milan’s Danilo D’Ambrosio rifled a shot from the right side of the box. It was an impressive goal, but a disappointing effort by Real in the waning minutes of the first half.
“It’s unacceptable,” said RSL head coach Jeff Cassar. “I want our group going forward to be tougher and to be sharper in certain moments of the game. And I think when we do that we’ll be a very good team.”
In the second half, both teams turned to their bench and played a lot of their reserves. It was just a friendly after all. RSL has a game on Friday and this was a sort of preseason match for Inter Milan. With reserves from both teams playing, the second half featured some sloppy play. Unfortunately one player stood out in the worst way: Real’s Lalo Fernandez, who was called up from the USL’s Real Monarchs.
Fernandez played very hesitantly. In the 74th minute, Fernandez hesitated to challenge a ball that he should have gone for. This hesitation left the goal wide open, but luckily Inter Milan’s shot attempt bounced off the left post and the ball was eventually cleared.
Just as the game was seemingly about to end in a 1-1 tie, Inter Milan had a chance on goal. Sriker Stevan Jovetic nutmegged Fernandez in stoppage time to give Inter Milan the 2-1 victory in the international friendly. It was an embarrassing moment for Fernandez and you couldn’t help but feel for the young goalkeeper.
“It happens,” Cassar continued. “But for him (Fernandez) to make the next step, it can’t happen. I still have confidence in him, he’s been playing extremely well for the Monarchs. It’s a growth process.”
As for the rest of the bench players, Cassar liked what he saw out of his reserves.
“I though each of them had moments. I thought all the Monarchs players that played with us all put in very hard work. They had moments where they did a lot of good things and they worked hard defensively. And for our players they all had times where they were good and there were times where it needed to get a little sharper. This experience is valuable for everyone.”
Hopefully the team plays a little sharper, like Cassar suggested, on Friday when the San Jose Earthquakes come to play Real Salt Lake in a match that really counts.
