Just a minute after being subbed on to start the second half, Real Salt Lake’s Pablo Ruiz picked up his head and picked out a teammate.
The long pass soared over the midfield and onto the foot of Chicho Arango, who set up striker Danny Musovski for a 46th-minute goal that shifted the tone Wednesday night at Sporting Kansas City.
“We found a really good balance” with the team’s second-half substitutions, RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said after rallying from two goals down to draw the game 2-2.
Ruiz’s distribution has been no small part of RSL’s balance of late. His assist on Wednesday was his sixth in his last four games.
“I missed the first few games [of the season] because of the Green Card situation,” Ruiz said last week after adding three assists to his tally. “But now I’m here and my mentality has changed a lot. I know I need to work hard to give my best and continue to grow. I think I knew I wanted to get better from last year. And I’m very happy that I’m able to help out my team.”
Said Mastroeni: “Pablo has really had a fantastic season and you see that on the offensive side obviously with the numbers he puts up. But his ability to win second balls in the middle of the midfield is fantastic, and I tell the guys when you work hard for each other great things happen.”
Chicho’s chemistry
After Musovski’s goal, he had a message for his teammate.
“That was fast,” the forward told Arango.
But after playing together last season at LAFC, Musovski said he and Arango should be able to rebuild their chemistry like that quickly.
“It just feels like nothing’s changed, “Musovski said.
Palacio debuts
Colombian midfielder Nelson Palacio made his RSL debut this week in Kansas City, earning praise from his manager.
“I thought he was fanatic,” Mastroeni said. “He was really good on the ball. His ability to close down space, his ability to run – he had a fantastic debut. It’s not easy to get that on the road, especially when you don’t see a lot of the ball in the first half. But he had a lot of really nice plays and I think he can pair well with any of our midfielders.”
Savarino’s status
Winger Jefferson Savarino didn’t not make the midweek trip this week after suffering an injury in last week’s 4-0 win over Orlando City.
“We’re hoping it’s short term,” Mastroeni said. “He jammed his hip joint in the last game. He wasn’t able to train the two days leading up to the game. I haven’t heard exactly, but I think the medical staff is optimistic.”
