RSL started last Saturday's 2-1 loss at Vancouver well. Tactically, there was nothing to be upset about, despite a lack of goals: Vancouver's speed on the wings was never particularly threatening before the 56th minute. But a simple clearance scuffed into the back of Chris Wingert (the wrong place at the wrong time if there ever was one) rebounded to Camilo, who slotted home with ease. Tactical error? Hardly.
But from that point forward, the shape changed. Chris Wingert and Tony Beltran emerged from their deeper positions, the midfielders dropped a little deeper, and Nat Borchers began pushing even further forward than most strikers.
It wasn't that new tactical approach that faltered when Dane Richards found the net: Chris Wingert (again, though I don't' hold him accountable in the least for the first goal, and with this second goal, it's a tough scenario) stood off the winger, and Richards took a long, curling shot that fizzed past Nick Rimando. Again, not a tactical error, but an error nonetheless.
Though the tactical approach had us set up well, abandoning it made it seem that we initially hadn't set up to find a goal. It wasn't, I suppose, a comfortable approach for RSL's full backs, sitting back like they did. The attack was somewhat neutered: To compensate for the lack of width, Johnson and Grabavoy took up wider positions and stayed a bit more on their sides — while recently, Johnson has been seen darting around the midfield picking up loose balls and making vital tackles, he was a bit more left-sided today, providing more emphasis on attack. But the simple, easy balls played from the full backs just inside were missing, and as a result, we didn't have much chance to build up play on the outside.
As a result, too many times, Espindola was forced to drop deep or very, very wide to help build play, leaving Saborio on a bit of an island. It is hard to say if Javier Morales remaining in the game for 60, 70 or even 90 minutes might have helped rescue something from the match. An ineffable bit of magic from Javier Morales, absent from the proceedings after the half, might have been enough.
The goal to close things out from Nat Borchers provided an interesting piece of the story, though, as Paulo Jr. — in his first match back from loan — found space efficiently and neatly, and further swung in a rather brilliant cross for the defender to get a head on. As they say, there is a silver lining. The other big silver lining? Kwame Watson-Siriboe, who was tidy, strong and safe the whole match. And to think, we picked him up for only just more than the cost of a loaf of bread (or something to that effect, right?) Watching this kid grow in our system has been exciting, and it promises to continue in that direction.tgo
Along with contributing to RealSaltLake.com, Matt Montgomery runs the almost-daily RSL blog Under the Crossbar. Follow Matt on Twitter @TheCrossbarRSL.
