Real Salt Lake’s 5-game road swing got off to a less-than-spectacular start on Saturday night. RSL traveled across the Rocky Mountains to Colorado, where they lost 1-0 to the Rapids in a match that ultimately came down to how well the ‘little things’ were executed.
The quirks of the MLS schedule meant that the two teams were meeting for the second time already this season, with Real having won the first match 1-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium on April 9. That was a fairly tight game, with the only goal coming on a defensive mistake, so it wasn’t surprising that the second leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup series would play out similarly.
Much has been written about the improvements the Rapids have made in 2016, but there were definitely elements that have carried through from 2015. Colorado was able to frustrate and stall the RSL attack last season, and they’ve largely succeeded in doing so again this year by staying compact and pressing high to limit the amount of space the likes of Javier Morales and Burrito Martinez have to maneuver.
That’s exactly how the match started off on Saturday, with the Rapids looking to press and exploit Real’s back line — Jamison Olave and JustIn Glad hadn’t played together much in the center previously — keeping RSL on the back foot early on. Fortunately for Real, some poor finishing and some timely deflections by defenders kept the scoreline even, and they were able to survive the opening minutes and begin to assert some attacking prowess themselves.
Tactically, one of the key match-ups was down the RSL right/Colorado left flank, where Tony Beltran and Shkelzen Gashi were going head-to-head. On the whole, Beltran did a good job defending Gashi, but the threat also kept Beltran from being able to be as involved going forward as much he and coach Jeff Cassar probably would have liked.
Initially, RSL was looking for long balls in an attempt to bypass the compressed midfield, but that approach wasn’t working without more diagonal play. Once RSL managed to find some possession and move the ball around to stretch Colorado out, they were able to create chances, but they were either just a bit off or were saved by Colorado goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
As the momentum of the match swung back and forth, the halftime break ended up being the critical moment of the match. Real wasn’t all there yet when the second half kicked off, and it ultimately decided the game’s outcome.
It wasn’t a red card, penalty kick, or other huge dramatic event that decided the match — just a series of small mistakes that piled up quickly as the players scrambled to adjust. Several defensive lapses accumulated, leading to Jermaine Jones’ game-winning goal, as the initial through-ball split the central defense and seemed to take them by surprise, and the midfield failed to track their runners, leaving Jones open.
Cassar did make several decisive moves in an attempt to get the game back. His first was to make a rare double substitution fairly early in the second half, bringing on Joao Plata and Luke Mulholland, and the substitutes did make an immediate impact on the match as RSL looked much more dangerous. But with Plata having just recovered from an injury and returning to match fitness, his usual energy wasn’t enough as he made a few errant passes at key moments.
Similarly, Cassar pulled Olave off in favor of Devon Sandoval late in the match, sacrificing a defender for a striker and sending Kyle Beckerman deeper as Real desperately sought an equalizer. It just wasn’t happening, though.
Both individually and as a collective, Real just looked a little “off” on the night — not debacle-in-LA levels of “off”, but not firing on all cylinders, either. It was always going to be a difficult match, given the rivalry, the individual battles on the pitch, and the pressure of the long road trip looming. RSL fans will be left feeling that it could have been a lot worse, but it could have been a lot better, too.
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