Real Salt Lake has won three of its last four MLS matches to climb within three points of the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. While RSL’s play has improved all over the field in that stretch, it appears as though the ramped up pressure of the playoff chase has elevated the team to a new level.
That was the assertion of Head Coach Jeff Cassar in his weekly interview on The Bill & OC Show on Tuesday.
“At this part of the season, everything is amplified. Every emotion. Every call,” Cassar said. “It’s great to see and our players need to feed off that energy. Feed off that pressure, that excitement and not be scared of it but want it. I think it’s pulling out the best in our players right now.”
In Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids, Cassar had his full complement of forwards for the first time since the arrival of Juan Manuel Martinez, leaving an attacking foursome of Martinez, Joao Plata and Sebastian Jaime at the three forward spots ahead of Javier Morales in the midfield. That foursome proved threatening throughout the match with their interchange of positions and strong combination play. In the end RSL got goals from Plata and Luke Mulholland and Cassar points to the cohesion between his attacking group that created danger.
“When you have a lot of players on the field who can produce, it’s hard for the other teams to zero in on one player,” he said. “Having Javi back out there again occupying a lot of the attention from Colorado freed up a lot of other players to do their thing.”
RSL doesn’t play this weekend, but hosts the Portland Timbers on October 14 in the first in a stretch of four matches in 12 days to close out the season.
To hear the full interview, click here.
