Nick Rimando earned his 100th win with RSL on Saturday
In theory, this past week should have been pretty difficult for Real Salt Lake.
Not only did Jeff Cassar’s side have a lot of improvements to make in the wake of a rather sad draw at home to San Jose last weekend, but RSL had a rare midweek match against the LA Galaxy on Wednesday followed by a quick turnaround and a trip to meet the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Saturday afternoon. Given Real’s injury situation, the team’s recent form, and the fixture list, one might have been a little skeptical about the team’s chances.
But just like virtually everything else this season, this busy week yielded a few surprises for RSL, this time in the form of four points and some attacking progress.
Wednesday night’s match against the Galaxy started out with a bang — literally. A thunderstorm passing through made its presence known during the national anthem, as a huge bolt of lightning appeared nearby during the line “the bombs bursting in air”, much to the delight of the crowd. However, the lightning kept the match from starting for over an hour, forcing both teams to cool their heels in the locker room.
When the match did finally start, both sides had the elements to deal with, as well as their opponents. Real went back to a modified 4-4-2, and the move seemed to pay some dividends as the attack showed some signs of life. Jordan Allen looked particularly lively, showing a lot of confidence on the ball and some considerable individual skill.
Mulholland did well in Chicago
Photo: Don Mac Gregor (Windy City Soccer)
Cassar’s move to pair Alvaro Saborio and Devon Sandoval up front seemed to work well, as Sandoval’s ability to hold the ball up gave Saborio more freedom.
However, that didn’t necessarily translate into goals, a frailty which was nearly disastrous in the closing minutes; Nick Rimando’s uncanny penalty-saving skills were needed to keep the match at 0-0.
Rimando and Allen would put up great performances again only a few days later in Chicago. Allen’s work down the left flank led to a long-awaited goal from the run of play for RSL; Luis Gil dummied Allen’s pass and Saborio slotted the ball home.
After Luke Mulholland’s goal, Rimando made a few more key saves — although Jeff Larentowicz’s penalty kick just eluded his outstretched fingertips — to preserve Real’s lead and give the goalkeeper his 100th win with the club.
What conclusions can be drawn from all of this? Well, the good news is that RSL’s attack appears to jump-started itself, and that the players are working hard — the effort against New England a few weeks ago seems to be somewhat of an anomaly. The bad news is that, with Allen off to the U-20 World Cup, Real will be missing another key player, one who was starting to make more of an impact each week.
RSL is headed to Montreal next weekend, where the players will have a huge opportunity against a side that continues to struggle in league play.
