Real Salt Lake's epic 3-3 comeback at FC Dallas on Saturday won't be forgotten any time soon. At least not by Zac MacMath.
Despite two major blunders by the goalkeeper that allowed the hosts to stake a commanding 3-0 lead at Toyota Stadium, his teammates staged a heroic rally on goals from Diego Luna, Anderson Julio and Nelson Palacio, the latter scoring the equalizer in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
“I probably owe a lot of the guys here dinner tonight,” MacMath admitted post-match. “I’m happy to do it and help thank them for what they did for me.”
The dramatic result extended Salt Lake's unbeaten run to 11 games – the longest in MLS – improving their record to 8W-2L-5D (29 points) at the top of the Western Conference standings.
Tight-knit unit
“We talk about it before every game that it doesn’t matter who makes a mistake. When we make a mistake, we’ve got each other’s back.” MacMath recalled. “I’ve been in locker rooms where you hear that before but obviously, as you guys can see, we believe that. We feel it.”
It’s a mentality head coach Pablo Mastroeni has instilled in a group that's rallied from a multi-goal deficit for the second straight week, after defeating the Colorado Rapids, 5-3, in a Rocky Mountain Cup clash for the ages.
“It’s not a surprise to me that the guys, given the scoreline, stay in there and fight,” said Mastroeni. “It’s a testament to the group. Everyone that’s a part of this club has the same mindset, and I think when you’re aligned in that way magic like that happens. Obviously, we don’t want it to happen too often, but I think it just shows the mental fortitude of the group.
“If a midfielder makes a mistake there’s a guy behind him in the backline to cover for him,” Mastroeni pointed out. “The way you cover for moments when keepers make mistakes is mentality in fighting back for him. Because that’s the only way as a group we can make that up, and tonight the guys did that for Zac.”
