Sometimes the best thing to do when faced with a road block or a deterrent to reaching an end goal is to walk away and come back to the conundrum later with a refreshed mindset. With a 4-5-6 record through the first 15 matches of 2015, Real Salt Lake had the opportunity to do just that this week when Head Coach Jeff Cassar gave his team four days off during a bye week in MLS play.
“I think the guys need to recharge their batteries a bit,” Cassar said after a scoreless draw with the Colorado Rapids on Sunday. “It’s important; I don’t think we’re going to have another weekend off the rest of the year. And we have a very busy schedule.”
While some players took the time to go on mini-vacations, others stayed in Utah and just spent time away from Rio Tinto Stadium. After a buys month of May that saw the team play seven matches, the time off was well-needed as it affords some the chance to recover from injuries and others the opportunity to rest after the rigorous May schedule.
The club will return to training on Friday with its sights set on matches against Seattle Sounders FC 2 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday and a home contest against Sporting Kansas City on Sunday. Both matches will be at Rio Tinto Stadium.
While the calendar is a bit more spread out, it’s still a busy couple of months ahead with players departing for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and other international competitions that will test the depth of the club. With that, RSL has the benefit of playing the majority of the matches in June and July at home.
“Summer is long and there are a lot of games, so it’s going to be tough, especially with international call ups. The fact is, this is our time,” RSL defender Tony Beltran said. “It’s time to put some points together before the summer starts.”
RSL is winless in its last three matches at 0-2-1, with untimely mistakes costing the team points in all three matches.
“We’re still playing good football at times and we just constantly need to eliminate the areas of weakness in the game and get closer and closer to a solid 90 minute performance,” midfielder Luke Mulholland said. “We have a few days until the next Open Cup game, then we will see the midway point. Fifteen games into the season now that’s done with, we can start a new clean slate and win a game and go from there.”
