SANDY, Utah – With the red line slipping farther and farther away in recent weeks, Real Salt Lake conjured up the ghosts of old to plant their flag firmly in the playoff race.
RSL scored two first-half goals to sink the Seattle Sounders 2-0 on Saturday night. Javier Morales and Sebastian Jaime provided the tallies, but it was the positive, possession-oriented soccer that made the difference.
“We just stressed, 'Let’s do it the way we want to do it,'” RSL head coach Jeff Cassar said after the game. “Let’s have high possession. High percentage passes and the chances will show themselves. Credit to the players. I mean, we connected on 433 passes and they were meaningful passes. So that’s the way we want to play, and credit to the players for going out and doing it.”
The irony of 433 passes for RSL's oft-maligned 4-3-3 formation is almost too good to be true but, coincidence or not, RSL stymied the Sounders and seemed to be buzzing around Seattle’s 18-yard box all night. The team played attractive, free-flowing soccer, moving the ball almost at will through Seattle’s midfield.
RSL’s first goal came from the penalty spot after defender Roman Torres got caught handling the ball just inside the area. Morales started, stuttered and deftly banged the spot kick into the back of the net.
Seven minutes later, Jaime was the quickest to react to Luke Mulholland’s rebounded shot off the crossbar. The 28-year-old sprung after the loose ball and nodded it inside the far post to double the lead.
After the match, RSL defender Tony Beltran credited his teammates for executing their game plan to perfection, but he also paid special attention to newcomer Luis Silva.
“It really helps, the fact that Luis is a very technical player. He’s really good on the ball. He’s able to pinch inside and kind of be close to Javier, close to [Joao] Plata, close to Seba, close to Kyle [Beckerman] and Luke," Beltran said. "It’s almost like, when he does that, it’s like the days of old, like we’re playing a diamond. Then you see those five-, 10-yard passes, and we’re able to dice through opponents and switch the field. And I always think we’re very successful when we combine on one side and then get to the other side because here in the altitude, it’s how we tire teams out.”
Seattle clearly ran out of steam as the match wore on. Whether it was the altitude or RSL’s constant pestering, the visitors were only able to muster a single shot on frame.
“I like the way that the guys controlled the game even when Seattle started to get a little bit of joy,” Cassar said. “We regrouped, got the ball back down on the ground and started to regain control, rather than giving it away early.”
Morales echoed that the team enjoys playing that way. “When you score two goals and you have time to possess the ball," he said, "I think tonight was [our] best performance.”
Tyler Gray covers Real Salt Lake for MLSsoccer.com.
