Photo by Kali Korbis
Real Salt Lake returned to MLS action on Saturday night in less-than-stellar fashion, earning just a point from its 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The time off for the Copa America did little to improve the problems that have followed RSL all season, and Portland did well to exploit those issues. Speed of play, winning second balls, midfield spacing, tracking runners out of the midfield, and struggling with transition play were all key elements in the Timbers’ attacking success against Real.
One of RSL’s most glaring problems remains the tendency toward midfield giveaways. A turnover in the middle third, combined with most of the Real players being caught flat-footed, led directly to the through-ball on Portland’s first goal. RSL relies on the methodical buildup far too often, allowing the opponent to get numbers back, limit the passing opportunities, and force Real to turn the ball over.
While the first half was decidedly not great for RSL, things did improve in the second half. Real was able to shake off the heaviness of the first 45 minutes and generate more shots and scoring chances. Moreover, Jordan Allen provided a spark off the bench, adding an element of creativity to the attack when he replaced Sunny in the second half and narrowly missing a shot just three minutes after entering the match.
Both of Real’s goals were scored from set pieces — a corner kick and a penalty — and RSL often found things difficult in the final third, despite having a good amount of possession. But far too much of that possession was that safe, methodical possession that didn’t result in much because the Timbers were able to get numbers back and cut down the space in which to move.
As Joao Plata and Burrito Martinez go, so goes the RSL attack, and there were long stretches in which they didn’t see much of the ball or had aimless vertical balls drifted in their direction. Real looked far more dangerous getting the ball wide quickly and going at Portland with speed, often with Plata or Martinez acting as the catalyst.
In addition, Jeff Cassar seems to have some difficulty in identifying a clear replacement for Kyle Beckerman. When the Real captain has been off with the national team or suspended, the team has taken several different approaches to replacing him. John Stertzer, Luke Mulholland, and Sunny have all taken turns at Beckerman’s position, but there doesn’t seem to be a clear solution at this point.
Against Portland, Cassar tried Sunny in that role, but the newcomer is far better as a box-to-box player. That assignment works to his strengths, allowing him to get involved in the attack more and occupy the spaces that are so critical to a 3-midfielder setup. In the Beckerman role, Sunny looked far less confident and struggled with distributing the ball.
It’s becoming clear that there’s no obvious solution — will Cassar look at altering the formation or system instead on those occasions? It’s unlikely, especially considering the number of games RSL will play in coming weeks and the limited amount of training time.
That fixture congestion will force some squad rotation at all positions, possibly starting this week. Wednesday night sees another home match against the New York Red Bulls, followed by a trip to Dallas, where travel and the heat could take a toll. With a US Open Cup match only a few days after that, Cassar will be forced into some untested combinations of players at key positions.
Real Salt Lake
