The mantra at Rio Tinto Stadium the last few weeks has been that the playoffs have already started for Real Salt Lake. With precious little wiggle room, RSL has climbed back into the playoff picture with three matches left to play, starting Wednesday at home against the Portland Timbers.
That amplified atmosphere is something that the team embraces as it enters the final three matches of the regular season, with another important match in CONCACAF Champions League mixed in for good measure.
“I think this year for RSL the playoffs start a few weeks early. I welcome that,” RSL defender Tony Beltran said on The Bill & OC Show on Monday. “I’m happy that we’re playing Portland rather than an Eastern Conference team because this is such a meaningful game. These are the teams we want to see at the end of the year because these are the teams we need to beat. It’s going to be a very intense affair. I think this team is in a very good place both mentally and soccer-wise and we’re all excited for it.”
RSL is three points behind Portland and the San Jose Earthquakes and even with the Houston Dynamo in the standings. A win over the Timbers would do wonders for RSL’s playoff chances with matches looming against FC Dallas at home on Saturday and on the road against the Seattle Sounders on October 25. Along with the Champions League match on October 20 against Municipal in which RSL needs a win or draw to advance to the Quarterfinal Round, it is a hectic and vital stretch of matches.
“We all know the situation. We all know what needs to be done. And we all know everything is in front of us and there’s still everything left to play for. So this team is extremely committed and extremely focused on the Portland game Wednesday,” Beltran said. “We have three of these four huge games at home. So that’s a big luxury right there. We’ll go one at a time because that’s the only way you can handle this. We’ve played through these stretches before, so we have the experience and we know we have the depth to get through it.”
To hear the full interview, click here.
