There wasn’t much hope for RSL against Montreal
Real Salt Lake’s season is proving to be more randomly nihilistic than a Don Draper road trip.
Just when the team had put together a couple of decent results, along came a 4-1 shellacking by the last-place Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo.
There were no excuses for Jeff Cassar and his side this time around. RSL started the same eleven players as it had for multiple matches, the 4-3-3 had been cast aside for a more midfield-oriented 4-1-3-2, and the team had some good momentum after the win in Chicago last weekend.
So what happened? Real simply seemed unprepared to face an Impact side that was motivated and waiting for an opportunity. Individually, RSL’s players were mostly lackluster, and the problems were only compounded at the team level.
The Impact were able to discombobulate Real quickly, scoring three goals within a twelve-minute period in the first half. Transitions have been troublesome all season long, and Montreal exploited that weakness very effectively, beating RSL with runs through the midfield that pulled the Real back four apart.
Too often, Real seemed to be simply reacting to what was happening. RSL can find itself lost in matches, particularly in the midfield — racking up possession, but much of it without spark or urgency.
There were two bright spots in an otherwise poor performance: Devon Sandoval’s goal — well-deserved not only for the quality of the strike but for his work rate over several starts — and Nick Rimando, who was hung out to dry on a number of occasions but managed to keep the scoreline from getting worse.
The overall performance, however, raises some major questions. With next weekend’s opponents — NYCFC, with its many RSL alumnae — bound to invite nostalgia and comparison to Real squads past, the 2015 team needs to find its footing quickly.
