Real Salt Lake has a chance to take control of the Group G standings on Tuesday when it takes on Santa Tecla FC at Estadio Las Delicias in El Salvador. Although the Claret-and-Cobalt has played just one match thus far in the tournament, RSL sits just one point behind Municipal in the standings while the Guatemalan champions have played three of its four Group Stage matches.
Now with players coming back from international duty and suspensions, Head Coach Jeff Cassar will have some fresh players available for selection as RSL takes on one of the top teams in El Salvador. Luke Mulholland and Tony Beltran both served league suspensions for yellow card accumulation as RSL topped the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, but joined their teammates in El Salvador on Sunday. Elias Vasquez and Abdoulie Mansally both played internationally last week and rejoined the team prior to the match in Houston, but did not appear against the Dynamo and give Cassar strong options for the starting lineup.
“We’re going to try to get as many new, fresh legs out on the field as possible,” Cassar said after RSL’s 3-1 win over Houston on Saturday. “With that being said we know that a win down there can really put us into the driver’s seat of the group, so we’re taking the game extremely serious. We’ll see how everyone recovers from this game, but we do have a game against LA on Saturday at home.”
Founded in 2007, Santa Tecla won the Primera Division Clausura title in 2015 to qualify for Champions League. The green-clad squad plays in a 10,000-seat, artificial surface stadium, where it earned a 1-1 draw with Municipal in its first CCL match on August 20.
In RSL’s first match on August 4, Joao Plata scored in the second minute and Salt Lake held on for a 1-0 win over Municipal in Guatemala.
Municipal currently leads the group with four points through three matches, while RSL is second with three points in one match, while Santa Tecla has just one point in two matches.
Group G Standings
Municipal, 1-1-1, 4 pts.
Real Salt Lake, 1-0-0, 3 pts.
Santa Tecla, 0-1-1, 1 pt.
Remaining Group G Schedule
Tuesday, Real Salt Lake at Santa Tecla
September 24, Real Salt Lake vs Santa Tecla
October 20, Real Salt Lake vs Municipal
