Jamison Olave makes a point
The uphill struggle for coach Jason Kreis continued at his old ground, as Real Salt Lake soundly defeated his New York City FC side by 2-0.
This was the first time coach Jason Kreis was facing the team he served for nine years – both as a player and a head coach, and in his pre-match interviews, he admitted he was looking forward to the occasion. Former RSL player Chris Wingert started as a center-back; while Sebastian Velasquez and Kwame Watson-Siriboe made the bench.
Nonetheless, it was evident within the first quarter of the game that his defenders would give him very little to be cheerful about. The NYCFC back four was repeatedly making poor decisions in seemingly innocuous situations and was conceding possession in the final third. RSL forward Devon Sandoval had the opportunities to make them pay twice in the opening stages, but they were let off the hook by some brilliant goalkeeping by Josh Saunders.
Eventually, though, RSL did manage to break the deadlock. In the 25th minute, combination play from Beckerman and Sandoval put John Stertzer through on goal, who neatly finished past Saunders. The back line was caught on their heels, neither tracking the RSL midfielder nor playing him offside. It was all too easy.
NYCFC’s defensive woes were compounded in the second half when forward Alvaro Saborio doubled in lead in the 49th minute. This was another instance of the NYC back line going to sleep as Saborio ghosted in from deep to head in a Luke Mulholland cross from close range.
Former RSL boy Chris Wingert, who has been playing in his less-favored center-back position this season, was particularly to blame for the second goal, and was repeatedly coming off second-best in his duels with Costa Rican.
When he was eventually substituted in the second half – respectfully lauded by the RSL fans as he came off, one could be forgiven for thinking he had never traded his claret-and-cobalt.
Speaking of Alvaro Saborio, the RSL forward seemed to be finding some form after being paired with Devon Sandoval. With Sandoval playing the role of a target-man and occupying at least one of the center-backs, Saborio could afford to work the channels, be on the end of Sandoval’s flick-on’s and even drop deep into midfield. The new dynamic seems to be working well for RSL, and was exemplified in the first half when a brilliantly whipped cross from Saborio almost found Sandoval at the far post.
Of course, there are still aspects of Sandoval’s game that needs improvement. While he does display excellent work-rate and physical prowess, his finishing still needs more work – as evident from the fact that none of the three one-one-one opportunities he had in the first half found the back of the net. While one could make a case for Saunders’ goalkeeping brilliance for the first two chances and argue that the third was more of a “reflex” chance, you would expect a forward with a poacher’s instinct to swallow these opportunities. Against a tighter defense, such flaws could prove costly.
Nonetheless, it was Jason Kreis who was left with the more serious concerns on the night.
It would be daft to suggest that Kreis would regret his move to NYCFC – the former RSL coach of all people would have been well-aware of the challenges of establishing a new team in a competitive league. However, while RSL had not made gigantic strides since Kreis’ departure, this was a stark reminder of the brand of soccer he had left behind and the gulf in quality his new side has to make up.
