Real Salt Lake is in a scoring slump. There’s no ignoring it, according to RSL Technical Director Craig Waibel.
However, he reiterated on his weekly radio show on Wednesday that the team has faith in the players on the roster, even while some key components remain unavailable.
“We don’t want to jump the gun and try a quick fix. We don’t need to. Most of the time in sports a quick fix will come back and bite you,” Waibel said on Wednesday on The Bill & OC Show on ESPN 700. “We’re trying to stay in the process, develop some young guys and get them experience. In truth, there’s reserves that need to step up. And stepping up in the attacking half means putting points on the board.”
Real Salt Lake started off the season unbeaten in the first five matches. Although two of those matches ended in scoreless draws, RSL still had six goals in the three matches in between. However, the team is now in the midst of a 316-minute scoreless drought and is looking to break out against the last club against which it scored when it faces the San Jose Earthquakes Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
It’s more than just hope that RSL is working with though, as the attacking players have put in extra work this week to hone their scoring touch.
“It’s uneasy. These guys are pros and they don’t enjoy not scoring any more than we enjoy watching them not score. There’s a lot of training in front of the net for our attacking players – a lot of reps hitting the net and building that confidence back up,” Waibel said. “We’ve had our chances. We’re not finishing our chances. It’s fair to be critical of anybody in entertainment, especially in sports, if they aren’t getting the job done.”
Although last year’s leading scorer Joao Plata has missed the first seven matches of the season with a fractured foot and Sebastian Jaime has been out of action for the last few weeks with a leg injury, Waibel isn’t about to use those absences as an excuse for lack of production.
“From a team stance, we have been playing without some key individuals that will alter the look of the team and the performance of the team. But when we watch a sporting event, we judge what we see. We don’t judge the potential of what’s not there always,” Waibel said, noting the team’s desire to bounce back from a 4-0 defeat to the New England Revolution on Saturday. “You have to take your lumps. You can’t avoid them. We got punched in the eye and we can’t pretend we didn’t. It’s really analyzing it and trying to help each individual get better from here.”
Friday’s match kicks off from Rio Tinto Stadium at 8 p.m. MT with local television coverage on KMYU starting at 7:30.
To hear Waibel's full interview, click here.
