With the weekend off and a full head of steam in MLS play, Real Salt Lake Head Coach opted to keep the competitive juices flowing with a 60-minutes intrasquad scrimmage on Friday. With a little help from some Real Monarchs players who aren’t likely to see extended minutes in the USL club’s match against the Tulsa Roughnecks on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium, Cassar split up the team in two groups for the abbreviated scrimmage at the team’s practice ground at America First Field.
With seven goals, it was an eventful session, as Juan Manuel Martinez scored twice, Monarchs forward Kevaughn Frater scored twice and John Stertzer scored the game-winner on the final kick of the game as his side won 4-3.
“It’s about staying in a rhythm. When you have the weekend off, you want to still accomplish things. We were able to stay in a rhythm and keep the intensity high for a short period of time,” Cassar said. “We were able to see a few mistakes and the quality from the first half to the second half got better and that’s what you always want to see is improvements when you make small changes.”
Most players went the full 60 minutes, but others subbed off at halftime, leaving some minutes for Cassar and RSL Assistant Coach Tyrone Marshall. Joao Plata and Luke Mulholland also recorded goals as RSL finished the week of training strong.
“You just saw a lot of energy from the group and a lot of commitment to get forward,” Cassar said. “It was good.”
After taking Saturday and Sunday off, RSL will get back to the practice field on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with the LA Galaxy at Rio Tinto Stadium.
