Scoreless in Sandy: RSL settles for another 0-0 draw at home as scoring frustrations mount
Scoreless in Sandy: RSL settles for another 0-0 draw at home as scoring frustrations mount
Salt Lake out-shot the Timbers 17-10, but only put four shots on target as Zac MacMath made four saves in a 0-0 draw at America First Field.
One week ago, when Real Salt Lake played to a wild 4-3 win at Portland in the U.S. Open Cup, the two sides must have used up all their goals.
No Maikel Chang brace came Wednesday night when the club’s met following a weather-delayed regular-season meetup in Sandy.
Quite the opposite.
RSL out-shot the Timbers 17-10, but only put four shots on target as Zac MacMath made four saves in a 0-0 draw at America First Field.
It’s the fourth consecutive match without a goal for RSL (3-6-3, 12 points), whose -10 goal differential is tied for the worst in Major League Soccer with the LA Galaxy.
This isn’t a good year to be tied with the Galaxy in goal scoring.
“I think the longer you go without hitting the back of the net, it feels a bit ominous,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said during a two-minute monologue following the match. “But I’ve been in this game for quite such some times and when you hit once, it seems to come in bunches. We tried something different today, putting (Jefferson Savarino) underneath, and I think he did a really good job of overloading. We’ve just got to keep finding him in dangerous situations.
“We’ll look at all of those things. But the difficult thing was the way Portland came to play, sitting back. If you’re having a hard time scoring goals when the game is open, it’s going to be really compact in that final third.”
The numbers favored RSL, with 60% of possession, 17 shots to just 10 allowed including six blocked shots and an 84% passing clip. The hosts had four corner kicks, 20 dangerous crosses, were called back for offsides twice and won 44 duels in midfield.
But the final touch wasn’t there — much like it hasn’t been for four matches, sending RSL to the third-longest scoreless skid in club history at 370 minutes.
“I thought the effort was really good,” Mastroeni said. “I think box-to-box, coming off last week and giving up three goals, that hasn’t been the identity of the group. It was good to come back and get a shutout. But on the other side of the field, I think some of the same issues that we’re dealing with is just finding the back of the net. To get off the snide, you’ve got to find different ways to do it; Justen Glad had a couple of opportunities on a set piece. (Brayan) Vera had a couple of cracks. It could be a set-piece goal. But again, I think one of the things that we’ll do is really focus in on that final third — and we have been. But the games coming in such success have been difficult, because one group is recovering while another is getting ready to go.
“We’ll look back on the opportunities that we did have, and the ones we should have had if we had made better decisions in those moments.”
Where did you find this kid?
RSL rookie Emeka Eneli continued to impress in his third start in MLS play.
The No. 25 overall pick in December’s MLS SuperDraft has played 356 minutes in eight games in league play for Salt Lake, which leads all rookies from the 2023 draft class. In that time, Eneli — played mostly forward and outside back in five years at Cornell — has transitioned to the club’s double-pivot midfield role in the 4-2-3-1 formation, posting two shots with five fouls conceded, 12 fouls suffered while passing at an 85.9% clip.
Wednesday was more of the same.
“He’s a player who has earned the right to be on the field,” Mastroeni said. “The way he defends, the way he attacks, the way he keeps the ball moving, his positioning; those are all fantastic attributes to have. For a young player to step into the game against a team like Portland and hold his own … we’re really pleased with his performance, and he continues to develop in a way that we hope for.
“I thought he had a fantastic game.”
A la defensa
The bright spot — if it is even that — is that RSL’s attacking misfortune has been paired with a sudden resolute ability in goal (outside of a 3-0 loss to LAFC). Despite injury-related rotation at center back (Marcelo Silva for Brayan Vera) and a cast of outside backs (on Wednesday, it was Bode Hidalgo pairing with Andrew Brody), the club has been tough to give up goals — albeit at sacrificing wins for draws at home.
While the team hasn’t scored in seven of 12 matches in 2023, RSL also hasn’t allowed a goal in three of the past four after opening the first eight matches without a shutout.
In some ways, RSL’s defenders have been equally dangerous in front of goal as its attackers. Justen Glad nearly bagged a header in the first half, and Vera has six shots and an assist in nine appearances despite playing mostly in the middle of the back line instead of his preferred left back.
“Truthfully, we’re pretty upset with the result,” said Vera, who joked in Spanish that his first goal with the club will come “very soon.” “We had a lot of chances on goal, and that is what bothers me the most. We hope that the fans can support us, and know that we are working hard to get positive results.”