3 Points: Does Real Salt Lake lack an identity under Pablo Mastroeni?
3 Points: Does Real Salt Lake lack an identity under Pablo Mastroeni?
RSL was on the receiving end of Nashville SC's first-ever win at GEODIS Park via a 2-0 loss Sunday afternoon. But the result is less of a concern than what belies underneath.
Thank you for spending part of your Monday morning with Own Goals, the official newsletter of Salt City FC. We’re back Monday Morning Quarterback featuring Real Salt Lake, this one coming off a 2-0 loss at Nashville SC.
And while a road loss in front of one of the better crowds in MLS isn’t something for which to be overly concerned, what should be concerning is a distinct lack of creativity, flair and movement going forward into the final third that RSL possessed against the Yellows.
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Now let’s get down to Nashville.
Real Salt Lake didn’t put in a bad performance against Nashville. It wasn’t good, for sure. But that’s probably the biggest issue that fans had following the match: it seemed to be a big net neutrality, the ultimate base to counteract any acidic performances that might have crept up Sunday.
Dave Romney and CJ Sapong each scored in the second half as Nashville SC took its first win at newly built GEODIS Park with a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake.
Again, the concerning part isn’t the loss; it’s the lack of chances from RSL, which dropped to 4-3-4 and three points behind fourth place in the Western Conference.
Real Salt Lake was outplayed offensively in the first 45 minutes, giving up 13 attacking opportunities to just two before the halftime whistle — both off fairly innocuous corner kicks.
The hosts were content to bomb away from different angles of the field, out-shooting RSL 10-0 while Salt Lake was holding on for dear life.
It was unsustainable, to say the least — and admitted by midfielder Justin Meram at halftime.
It didn’t sustain much past the hour mark.
Romney scored in the 63rd minute, finishing a deflected shot from inside the penalty box to give Nashville the only lead it would need (insert political pun here about Romney scoring against a team from Utah, go ahead).
Here are three thoughts about a loss in the Music City.
What’s a Real?
There wasn’t a lot that stood out from Sunday’s match for RSL, but one thing was clearly lacking: creativity — or even possession — in the final third.
Heart, grit and soul are good things for a team to possess, and even better for a team to display. But they can only take you so far, as well.
It can’t be a whole identity, either. xMentality can trump xGoals, but only when Real Goals™ trump xGoals, too.
There’s a balance needed, and RSL got out of balance Sunday afternoon in Nashville (to say nothing of the little balance in a scoreless draw at Portland and 1-0 win over LA Galaxy before the weekend. The majority of the team’s offensive possession has been down the middle of the park, and with Damir Kreilach out of the lineup while recovering from a back ailment, that possession has been stunted.
Real Salt Lake has some dangerous wide players, including outside backs Andrew Brody and Aaron Herrera. They just haven’t been utilized as well as they could be, or at least, they weren’t Sunday afternoon.
“We don’t take any loss lightly,” Herrera said after the match. “This was a tough one, coming in here, Nashville is a great team. Being in it, I don’t know when they scored, 70th minute or something, and then giving up a goal like we did kind of sucks, but at the end of the day they were the better team.
“We got to figure out our identity. Our whole identity can’t just be heart, will, grinding out results, and having to get a shutout every game in order to win games. We’ve got to figure out how to be more dangerous as a team going forward. We got to be more comfortable playing out, attacking, and all that stuff. We’ve got a lot to figure out this week.”
It’s not like there’s a reason to panic; just like with the early run of good results, Real Salt Lake hasn’t even hit the midway point of the season. With five of the next eight matches at home, there’s plenty of time to make adjustments and improve as a team.
But losses spark introspection, and in most cases, even changes. And that’s not just from a lineup perspective, either.
“We’re back home which is great,” Herrera said. “Hopefully we can get it together this week and win on the weekend.”
Return of the Julio
More creativity and flair on the ball was exactly what Real Salt Lake looked to sign during the primary transfer window. Unfortunately for the club, Jefferson Savarino is still working through immigration, a process just completed by another high-profile signing from shortly before the deadline.
Just two days after getting off the plane and obtaining his visa to return to Major League Soccer from Mexico, Anderson Julio made his first appearance on the bounceback for Real Salt Lake.
The Ecuadorian winger replaced Rubio Rubin in the 75th minute, and the fleety speedster crashed the box about eight minutes later looking for a goal. Moments later, Meram lobbed a ball from the edge of the box that found the back of the net — but it was called back by the referee, dropping the Iraqi international to his knees in disbelief.
Still, the chances were there — if only after trailing 1-0 — before Sapong put the game away in the second minute of stoppage time.
It’s unfair to make judgements based off 10-15 minutes of play, and Mastroeni won’t do that. He only had one training session with the first team before setting out from Salt Lake International Airport to Nashville, and hasn’t played a competitive first-team game since last year’s Western Conference final.
But there were some good moments produced in the short run out Julio showed Sunday, and reason to believe that the reasons RSL brought him back — speed, flair, even creativity — remain in the 25-year-old frame.
“The idea was giving him minutes, to integrate him with the group as quickly as he can,” Mastroeni said, before adding: “He had one moment where he received the ball in the area, and his turn was really good. It’s those types of plays — near goal — that I think he can really help this group.”
Shorthanded again
Perhaps they should be used to it by now, but Salt Lake is once again finding itself shorthanded (though not nearly as bad as in early spring, when the club was reduced to as few as two professional center backs and called a pair of Real Monarchs on an MLS hardship claim).
But Sergio Cordova (right knee) Zack Farnsworth (right ankle), Bret Halsey (ankle), Erik Holt (left foot), Johan Kappelhof (left calf), Jonathan Menendez (adductor), David Ochoa (personal absence, excused) and Damir Kreilach (back) were all left unavailable for Sunday’s game due to injuries and other concerns.
Mastroeni didn’t make excuses at the start of the year, and he hasn’t started yet. But the lack of availability is clearly taking its toll on the team — especially Kreilach. The 33-year-old Croatian international is clearly the heart of the team, and when he’s not available, it’s hard to replace — even if his spot can be occasionally filled in on the field.
Justin Meram is the most likely candidate. But the two players are different body types, different players, and while similar in experience, often play the ball so differently that it can be visibly noticeable how one connects with his teammates compared to the other.
So part of the lineup experimentation — RSL played a 4-4-2 on Sunday while alternating from a 3-5-2 and other formations earlier — has been tricky with no captain.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to figure out with combinations,” Mastroeni said. “Really, I think it’s Meram coming off the left side and being the guy that we can find in the middle and help us create. It’s something we’ve been focusing on, and will continue to focus on.
“Damir’s a huge part of our group on both sides of the ball and leadership. The guys have been doing extremely well without Damir, but not enough to create quality chances on goal.”