Real Salt Lake turned in one of its best performances of the year on Saturday night, defeating the Houston Dynamo 3-1 at BBVA Compass Stadium.
It was a surprising performance from a Real side that looked like a completely different team than the jittery, inconsistent group that is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since the aughts. RSL was strong, calm, and attacked with flair, despite facing many of the same challenges that have troubled the squad throughout the season.
Many of those extenuating circumstances — or excuses, depending on your point of view — were present on Saturday night: missing key players in suspended starters Tony Beltran and Luke Mulholland, and Sebastian Jaime at home with a newborn; a mid-game injury that took Luis Silva out and forced Jeff Cassar to make a very early substitution; a terrible penalty call that went against RSL and might well have impacted the game’s outcome; poor pitch conditions; and so on.
So what was so different this time?
Burrito Martinez certainly had something to do with it — the newcomer had a tremendous impact in his first start. In the last seconds of the first half, it was a rebound from his shot that Javier Morales was able to slot home for the first goal of the match. In the second half, another rebounded Martinez shot would lead to Devon Sandoval scoring a long-awaited goal as well.
Finally, Martinez scored his first goal for the club later in the match — a well-deserved reward for the Argentine, whose deep, well-timed runs down both flanks were virtually impossible for the Dynamo defense to contain. He seemed to have integrated into the RSL side seamlessly, combining well with Morales and Joao Plata and looking comfortable immediately.
However, it wasn’t simply an individual effort — excellent work was being done all over the pitch by Cassar’s squad. Nick Rimando made several critical saves, keeping Houston from equalizing and being his usual indispensable self. The back four dealt with another change, with Jordan Allen coming in to deputize at right back. Most importantly, there was a sense of a real team effort, rather than one or two individuals trying to drag everyone along with them.
It was a performance driven by mental toughness. In most matches this season, any one of the circumstances listed above might have doomed Real, especially away from home. However, when faced with a potentially game-changing poor refereeing decision this time, RSL was able to leave it behind and go on to score again.
Whether it was the extra rest and preparation that came with last week’s bye, something that the coaching staff did differently, or simply confidence that instilled that mentality in the players, the performance was equal to the talent that Real has. The off-the-ball runs, team defending, and play in the final third were all much improved compared to two weeks ago in Dallas.
Sadly, it’s an effort that’s come too late this season. From a fan’s perspective, while it was great to see RSL finally come good so emphatically, there’s also a bit of “where has THAT been all season?” about it.
The playoffs might be unattainable at this point, but at the very least, perhaps Real can use this match as the impetus to build its confidence, put some pressure on the Western Conference opposition in the remaining matches, and climb up a few places in the standings for pride if nothing else.
And there’s always the CONCACAF Champions League. RSL has two matches with Santa Tecla coming up — the team is in El Salvador for Tuesday’s match, and the return leg will be played on the 24th; Real is currently in a good position to win its group and advance, but the fixtures are piling up again.
There’s also the small matter of a home match against the LA Galaxy sandwiched in between. With Bruce Arena’s cast of international stars coming to the Riot on Saturday on the heels of Real’s long trip to El Salvador, that will be a true test of whether RSL can maintain its mental toughness over several matches.
