• Recap
• Bleachers

Findley, Pope help Real rally past Galaxy

Sep 2, 2007 - 8:26 AM CARSON, California (Ticker) -- Robbie Findley and Eddie Pope each scored a goal in the second half as Salt Lake Real rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday.

In the 67th minute, Andy Williams recorded his first assist of the season when he fed Findley, who beat Galaxy goalkeeper Steven Cronin from inside penalty area to tie the game at 1-1.

"I needed to get more minutes on the field and I came to Salt Lake and they started me and I've had reasonable success so far." Findley said. "I'm getting the experience that I need so I can play at this level. It helps my rhythm and my touch, I'm going to keep practicing hard and do what I'm doing and I know that it will lead to success for me and the team."

It was the 22-year-old Findley's sixth goal this season. He was acquired from Los Angeles on June 21 along with Nathan Sturgis in exchange for Chris Klein.

Salt Lake (4-11-6) didn't wait too long before taking the lead for good.

On a free kick, Cronin stopped Alecko Eskandarian's shot and redirected toward Pope, who easily pushed in the rebound for the game-winning goal in the 71st minute.

"I feel we've been moving in this direction for a long time," Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis said. "I feel that the team is playing well and not getting results, It's very rewarding to feel and see now that we are getting three points and it gives everyone a lite at the end of the tunnel.

"This is the result of what we've been trying to do all along not just in the last two weeks. To be honest we played poorly in the first half and we're overrun and the difference is not giving up."

Arguably the best defender in MLS history, Pope finally found the back of the net for just the second time since joining Real Salt Lake in 2005. He has just 10 career goals in 248 games.

Alan Gordon's goal in the sixth minute opened the scoring for Los Angeles (3-11-5), which played without injured megastar David Beckham.

"Obviously I'm devastated with losing, I felt we had a great first half, we had chances to finish the game and they went wasting," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. "If you don't make the most of your chances when your on top your not going to win games. From a effort point of view I can't fault the guys for their effort that's all I can ask of them."

Beckham sprained his right knee during Wednesday's SuperLiga contest against Pachuca. He is the expected to miss at least six weeks and could be out for the reminder of the campaign.