Real Salt Lake bounced from Leagues Cup with 3-0 loss to Houston Dynamo
Real Salt Lake bounced from Leagues Cup with 3-0 loss to Houston Dynamo
The Dynamo scored three first-half goals through three different goal scorers, eliminating RSL from the Leagues Cup with a 3-0 win in Houston, Texas.
Rolling into Monday night’s West Group 8 finale at Shell Energy Stadium, Real Salt Lake rolled out seven potential outcomes against the Houston Dynamo — and six of them favored the visitors finding a way through to the knockout stages.
It’s always the one, isn’t it?
The Dynamo scored three first-half goals through three different goal scorers, eliminating RSL from the Leagues Cup with a 3-0 win in Houston, Texas.
“For me, it was about us,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “It’s usually us-against-us … and whether we play to our standard. Tonight, we didn’t do that.”
RSL’s defensive posture needing only a win or a draw to top the west group 8 Monday night didn’t serve it well.
Not when Herrera put the Dynamo ahead in the seventh minute, skipping a rocket by Gavin Beavers for a lead Houston would hold through halftime.
Micael doubled the advantage, heading home Herrera’s free kick in the 24th minute to go up 2-0. Just before halftime, Ezequiel Ponce crashed the box looking for the final touch on a cross from Griffin Dorsey.
Whether by Ponce’s pounce or a touch by Justen Glad — the goal would later be counted as an own goal off the RSL center back — Houston had a 3-0 advantage in the 42nd minute.
“Obviously, a real rough first half,” Mastroeni said. “I think a lot of things in football, as in life, are psychological. We were careless with the ball in the first half, a lot of loose passing that isn’t as careful as the team we are.
“Typically, if you concede one goal, you have to make sure you’re present and the next play is the right way. We can make all kinds of excuses — the heat, whatever it is — but it wasn’t good enough tonight. Often times in these moments, you want to place blame. But the kind of person I am and the kind of coach I want to be, it starts with me. How we now use this as a piece of momentum heading into the broader part of the season, with the way we train, the mindset with which we start playing, all these things will add up. Confidence is won and lost on the field. We need to understand that when things don’t go our way, we have the mental fortitude to bounce back, and that belief that we’ve had for the majority of the season.
“It was obviously a difficult game. I thought in the second half, we did a good job of getting after it … But goals change games. Goals change psyches. And tonight we didn’t have any go our way.”
Mastroeni emptied the bench. Chicho Arango, newly reinstated from his four-match suspension that included the MLS All-Star Game, replaced Anderson Julio at halftime among a trio of subs that included Andrew Brody for Alex Katranis and Emeka Eneli for Braian Ojeda.
Benji Michel, the newly signed winger previously of Orlando City, replaced Matt Crooks in the 66th minute. Noel Caliskan entered for Nelson Palacio in the 81st minute as RSL looked for fresh legs and a creative attacking touch to try to find some offense.
But the Dynamo matched Salt Lake with seven shots on target, out of 13 for Houston and 14 for RSL, to send the visitors home to a long Leagues Cup break while the hosts headed to the knockout stages.
Real Salt Lake will return to MLS play Aug. 24 against San Jose. Kickoff from Sandy, Utah is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
If there is a silver lining in a three-week layoff — and perhaps there isn’t, but maybe this one can be applied — it’s that RSL’s front office has been very busy during the current summer transfer window that runs through Aug. 14.
Michel has made his debut, but still hasn’t fully integrated into a different system than the one he played in Orlando. Javain Brown has been training with the team, but the reserve center back and right back who was claimed off waivers from Vancouver hasn’t debuted, nor has Australian attacker Lachlan Brooks, who Mastroeni said is close to arriving in Utah.
So he’ll give the players two days off and then get back to training as Salt Lake looks to improve on its third-place position in the Western Conference (12-5-8, 44 points).
In other words, work harder and work smarter, Mastroeni said.
“It’s not about punishment; it’s about getting better,” he added. “When you stand in the locker room and talk with the group, it’s really easy to try to get away from it. But getting away from it isn’t dealing with the issue. It’s good to take time away, but we’ve got a couple of new players, J-Glad just rejoined the group, and it’s about bringing everyone together and use this time to be a more cohesive group.
“We want to be a great team, and great teams are willing to suffer and sacrifice. We are going to get back on the horse, and commit to being a better team than we were tonight.”
-Real Salt Lake manager Pablo Mastroeni-