by Kali Korbis
Real Salt Lake’s new 4-3-3 formation was supposed to maximize the team’s attacking potential — at least in theory, anyway.
However, in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Portland, it was the RSL defense that carried the day.
Nick Rimando picked up right where he left off at the end of the 2014 regular season, practically standing on his head to preserve a scoreless draw at Providence Park, and the new central-defense partnership of Jamison Olave and Chris Schuler looked promising. Even the strikers got in on it, moving back at critical moments to help out.
On the other hand, Real didn’t overwhelm the Timbers with possession, nor did the attack produce many quality scoring chances. While the defense shone on Saturday, RSL didn’t look abundantly menacing inside the 18-yard box on the other end.
That’s not to say that Real should abandon the 4-3-3, though, despite what many in the Twitterverse were calling for that night. The old diamond formation had plenty of flaws as well (not the least of which was the fact that every experienced coach in the league knew what to expect), and the attack looked slow and plodding too often last season. In the first match of the season, in a hostile environment, and on an artificial surface, the result isn’t all that worrisome.
Nick Rimando made a series of incredible saves
RSL has a huge opportunity this weekend, however, playing at home against a Philadelphia Union side that also failed to score last week.
Two things will be critical as Jeff Cassar prepares his side for the home opener: minimizing the number of giveaways in the midfield and winning more 50-50 balls in the attacking third. Last week, a lot of Real’s possession seemed naive, as there didn’t seem to be a good outlet on the transition going forward with the ball. That led to some rather hopeful passes that often ended up on the foot of a Timbers player rather than with a teammate.
That’s to be expected as the players settle into a new system and figure out the kinds of runs they need to make to work efficiently as a group. But they’ll need to be smarter off the ball and execute better with the ball to deliver results going forward.
RSL should be proud of its defensive effort, even without its full first-choice back four. But in an ultra-competitive Western Conference, the team needs to find its attacking footing quickly.
