The scenery at the Riot was pretty, but RSL’s finishing certainly wasn’t
The drought conditions in the Intermountain West have apparently gotten to Real Salt Lake.
No, it’s not the brand-new pitch at Rio Tinto Stadium — it’s doing quite well. It’s RSL’s finishing that has essentially dried up in the summer heat.
Last week was a rough one on the attacking front for RSL, despite being at home. The team’s inability to convert the many, many chances it created over the course of two matches led to an early exit from the US Open Cup and to dropping two crucial home points in league action this week.
Jeff Cassar had staked quite a bit on the Open Cup, opting to rest his starters last weekend to save them for Tuesday and effectively conceding three league points at Dallas. It failed to pay off, though, as Seattle brought a reserve-heavy lineup to the Riot but kept Real at bay, and ultimately advanced on penalties.
Although RSL created a number of opportunities, both Sounders goalkeeper Tyler Miller and their own issues in front of goal prevented Real from scoring in the run of play. Their only goal came on a first-half penalty kick by Joao Plata before conceding a second-half equalizer.
Against DC, it was more of the same, as Real moved the ball around in the attacking third and dominated play, but struggled with the last ball.
United goalkeeper Bill Hamid had seven saves, denying Yura Movsisyan several times and making a key play on Olmes Garcia in the waning moments of the match. Luke Mulholland and Plata also had notable attempts saved by Hamid, who turned in a spectacular performance.
Meanwhile, RSL’s defense dealt pretty well with the DC attack, holding off their former teammates Alvaro Saborio and Fabian Espindola. The outside backs were able to get forward, and Demar Phillips played a key role in starting the play that would ultimately lead to Real’s go-ahead goal on a great bit of individual skill from Burrito Martinez.
The lead wouldn’t last, though, no matter how great the goal was, as tactically, there was a lot to be desired in the final moments against United.
Cassar pulled Phillips, who had been keeping DC honest with his forays down the flank and into the attack, instead of any of the midfielders or forwards who looked visibly exhausted (not surprisingly, given the physicality of the match and the midweek effort still weighing on them).
Chris Wingert came into the game for Phillips, presumably to shore the match up defensively, but it ultimately had the opposite effect. Real began sitting back further, conceding more and more space to United and hoping for the final whistle.
That ultimately led to the decisive corner kick. Whether it was confusion given the substitutions, fatigue, or a simple mental mistake on RSL’s part, DC substitute Jared Jeffrey found himself wide open and slotted home an easy header, given that there was no defensive player on the post.
With the equalizer coming so late, time was simply out for Real. Given the weight of so many squandered chances both that night and in the Open Cup loss, however, a second goal would have been unlikely even with that luxury.
Fortunately, RSL will have an extra day’s rest before facing the Montreal Impact next weekend, which should help with heavy legs. However, Cassar will have a lot more to do than just regen this week, as there are some clear signs that the pressure of being unable to solve the attacking puzzle is getting to his players — some look terrified of taking shots at all, others are struggling with first touches and putting themselves in better positions, and the inability to make decisions quickly allows the opposition to put numbers behind the ball.
The high desert still has a lot of summer left, but Real must put the drought metaphor behind them — hopefully sooner rather than later.
