ORLANDO, Fla.- Fatigued and undisciplined were the words Real Salt Lake head coach Jeff Cassar used to describe the dramatic last-minute defensive meltdown that his team suffered at Orlando City SC to concede a 2-2 draw in a gut-punch of a finish.
Cassar insisted his team had done everything right in easing to a solid 2-0 lead behind two goals from Joao Plata before Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter rocked his team in the final 60 seconds.
“We did a good job until the last six minutes,” he said. “Then things became fatigued and undisciplined. We did not recognize the dangers and they capitalized on our mistakes.
“Things happen fast in this game and, defensively, this is a coaching point for us to share with our team. You have to finish out games like this; you talk about it all the time. You tell them it is a 90-plus minute game because crazy things happen, and that was pretty crazy at the end.”
Cassar was delighted with the way his men implemented their game plan to blunt the attacking threat of a Kaká-less Orlando, giving last year’s 17-goal man and Rookie of the Year Larin few looks at Nick Rimando’s goal and causing few alarms until the closing stages. But he refused to let his team off the hook for their late, late collapse.
“Yes, it has been a busy period but I’m not going to use that as an excuse,” he insisted. “These guys have gone through a lot in flying to Mexico, flying back home to play a game and then flying here. It was difficult.
“The guys have played well in all the games and stuck to the game plan in each case. In this one, we just unraveled at the wrong time. Orlando put the ball in dangerous areas over the top and kept going. Sometimes the dam breaks, and we should never have let that happen.”
The big positive for Cassar was in seeing the team gel through the disappointment of the midweek CONCACAF Champions League exit. “The group has come together well so far this year,” he added. “It has been a good experience. We just have to make sure we don’t see this ending again.”
