What more does RSL captain Damir Kreilach provide off the bench?
What more does RSL captain Damir Kreilach provide off the bench?
In Real Salt Lake's narrow 2-1 loss at FC Dallas, regular starter Justin Meram came off the bench and starred with an immediate goal. Can fellow regular starter Damir Kreilach do the same?
SANDY, Utah — Real Salt Lake will try to bounce back from a 2-1 loss at FC Dallas this weekend when it hosts San Jose at America First Field (7:30 p.m. MDT, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
In that narrow, last-second loss where the visitors controlled the offense, Salt Lake got a spark from regular starter Justin Meram, who came off the bench and almost immediately set up the first goal to Jefferson Savarino that equalized the match before Bernard Kamungo’s late winner.
Meram’s impact drew praise from RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni. But the role made us think similar thoughts about another regular starter who could likely come off the bench: team captain Damir Kreilach.
Kreilach is the ultimate team player, a strong leader for the club, and simply all-around good dude. While every player wants to start, there’s nothing to suggest Kreilach won’t do what needs to be done for the team.
While still recovering from back surgery that caused him to miss most of the 2022 campaign, the 34-year-old Kreilach started strong — pun only partially intended — before struggling during a 4-0 home loss to St. Louis City SC.
That sent Kreilach to the bench, and he’s only come off it for a 15-minute substitute appearance during a road loss to Columbus.
Kreilach won’t be sidelined for long; he’s participated in training all week, so he could even earn minutes or start Saturday against the Earthquakes.
But for as much as the attacking midfielder and sometimes striker has been a leader and a talisman for RSL, he’s rarely been a late-game spark. In 129 appearances across six seasons in Salt Lake, Kreilach has featured as a non-starter in just seven of them as he’s totaled 44 goals and 24 assists in 10,732 minutes.
Again, there’s nothing to question if Kreilach can come off the bench, nor if he would if asked by Mastroeni. But does not starting change any of what Kreilach does best?
We asked the manager.
“I think Dami brings a great deal of energy on both sides of the ball,” Mastroeni said. “Given what he’s been through in the last year, the thing that he’s still trying to recover is his dynamic mobility. But the thing I’ve seen in the last three months is he still has an uncanny ability to finish.
“When you think about what Dami brings into a game (as a sub), it’s his ability to show up in the right spots and his ability to finish in high-pressure moments. This role that he finds himself in is one that is catered to a game that we’re up and he needs to control the game’s tempo, or coming into the game and being in at the right time to see us through. I think he’s a multi-faceted option off the bench.”
Maybe Kreilach starts Saturday night. But he will be available, and it seems likely that he will have a (key) role with the club. And that’s a good thing for Real Salt Lake.
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You can listen to the rest of Mastroeni’s pre-match conversation with the media on the Salt City FC podcast feed, available on your pod-catcher of choice, including a preview of an Earthquakes side that has very quietly gotten off to its best start since 2012 at 4-2-2.
Carlos Gruezo has played a critical role in the midfield since joining the Quakes on a three-year contract in January, and Jeremy Ebobisse and Cristian Espinoza have spearheaded the attack, combing to score or assist on 46 of San Jose’s 62 goals (74.2%) since the start of the 2022 campaign, per MLS.
“I think they’re a really dynamic team, especially up front,” Mastroeni said of the Quakes. “Their front four, especially with (designated player Jamiro) Montiero, pose a real threat in and out of possession; they play well on the counter. The one thing about their front-four guys is they make plays: they can create opportunities for themselves, and as a collective.
“They have some good MLS experience in their team, and they are well organized. I think it’s going to be a great challenge for us.”
RSL Match Day 8
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. MDT
Location: America First Field
Referee: Filip Dujic
AR #1: Michael Barwegen
AR #2: Mike Rottersman
Fourth official: Ramy Touchan
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard
RSL injury report
Out: Zack Farnsworth (thigh), Axel Kei (ankle)
Questionable: Andrew Brody (ankle)
Probable: Damir Kreilach (groin), Erik Holt (Achilles)