SANDY, Utah – After a slow start to the season, Real Salt Lake are trending upward thanks, in part, to a return to what the team does best.
RSL ended their four-game winless streak last week with a pair of positive results, playing the LA Galaxy to a scoreless draw at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday before beating the Chicago Fire 2-1 at Toyota Park on Saturday. Both games saw RSL line up in a 4-4-2 formation, and – while it wasn’t quite the diamond midfield of old – the team is hoping the somewhat familiar setup will continue to spur them in the right direction.
RSL defender Tony Beltran is happy about the recent run of form, but said that the club needs to perform at a consistent level to be successful through the long MLS season.
“It’s only two games,” Beltran said after practice on Tuesday. “There’s so many games, so I don’t want to say anything [too drastic]. I think that Wednesday was a better performance, and obviously Saturday we got a good result, but we have to continue to string those performances and results together if we want to be an elite team.”
Head coach Jeff Cassar chose to shake it up the past two matches, abandoning the much-discussed 4-3-3 formation RSL used to start the season in favor of a 4-4-2 formation with a bit of width. So far, the players have responded well to the change, with Cassar saying that his side has had more impactful possession in their new setup.
“I think possession has been better,” Cassar said. “You can have all the possession that you want, but you have to have purpose with your possession. I think we’ve had that.”
RSL initially made the switch to the 4-3-3 to play to the strengths of a talented forward group. But with 2014 leading scorer Joao Plata and Designated Player Sebastian Jaime both missing significant time due to injury this year, that strength has moved to the midfield, with the new formation playing into that shift.
“I’ve always said that we have a lot of success when our midfielders are able to combine within 15 to 20 yards,” Beltran said. “That’s when we can really move the ball around teams and get the ball side-to-side, and that’s where we’ve had a lot of our past success. So I think switching into that with a 4-4-2 helps.”
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RSL put that type of interplay on display in their second goal against the Fire on Saturday.
Seven players touched the ball in a nine-pass sequence that was eventually finished off by midfielder Luke Mulholland, with many of the passes coming in that 15-to-20 yard sweet spot that Beltran described. It was a classic RSL goal, one born out of a level of understanding the team might not have had while playing in the 4-3-3.
“I feel comfortable in both [formations],” Beltran said. “But for whatever reason, right now, it’s just we understand [the 4-4-2] formation a little better."
