One game down for Real Salt Lake and one difficult point earned.
RSL opened the season on Saturday at Providence Park against a Portland Timbers team looking to get back in the playoffs after falling just short last season. Earning a point with a scoreless draw was a big step for Real Salt Lake, not just because it came in a difficult environment, but also because of the defensive performance.
“The biggest takeaway was, defensively, we were all on the same page. I thought the fight, the commitment, the passion was off the charts defensively,” RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar said. “Can we get better offensively? Absolutely. But this is not an easy place to play. The turf gets slick, things happen quick and I thought our focus was very good on the defensive end.”
The midfield trio of Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales and Luis Gil struck a good balance between getting involved in the attack and staying true to the defensive principles. That allowed the back four of Tony Beltran, Jamison Olave, Chris Schuler and Abdoulie Mansally to contain their marks and limit the legitimate scoring chances for Portland.
In the end, RSL blocked nine of Portland’s 18 shots, including three in a flurry in second-half stoppage time.
“With this new formation, being good defensively is huge for us, especially at the beginning of the season because we’re still trying to get used to this new formation,” Beckerman said. “For seven, eight years, it’s been standard. We play the same way, everyone knows where someone is going to be and it just becomes second nature. Now we’ve changed all that. We wanted to really focus on being good defensively and then we’ll work from there. But if we don’t have that defense first, we’re going to be in trouble.”
On a night when RSL struggled to find an offensive rhythm, goalkeeper Nick Rimando was a standout, making five saves. His first clean sheet of the 2015 season was the 116th of his distinguished MLS career and fourth consecutive shutout at Providence Park, including a 1-0 playoff win in the 2013 Western Conference Championships.
Now with a home tilt against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, Rimando is looking forward for the opportunity to get back in front of the fans at Rio Tinto Stadium.
“Obviously we are very excited to get back in front of our fans. We played a lot of defense today, but hopefully it turns around to an offensive game at home in front of our fans and we get some goals,” Rimando said. “Again, why we got the result today is because we were focused and concentrated on getting that zero.”
Added Cassar, “If you win your home games and get road results and a few wins here and there, that’s a fantastic thing. So, we got a shutout in a very difficult stadium. Now we have to go home and take care of business against a very dangerous team, but I know the guys are feeling very good about the defensive effort tonight. Now we go home and take care of business in front of our fans.”
Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT.
