Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders FC (WWID edition)

Well it has been a while since I have done one of these but after some lackluster efforts by RSL and a poor 1-2-0 in our last 3 it is time for us to look at what RSL should do if they want to beat Seattle this weekend. For RSL it is huge as they need every home point if they want a real shot at the playoffs, for Seattle they are coming off their worst defeat in MLS last weekend as they got beat 4-0 by lowly San Jose and beatdowns in exhibitions against two of the world’s best teams (Chelsea and Barcelona) and for them the pack is catching up so they will need points on the road as 7 of their remaining matches are on the road and only 4 more home matches. In watching Seattle play all season, they love to push a high line and attack, they have decent speed and usually good passing, they play as aggressive as any team in MLS and look to put their opponents away quickly, but they are suspect to the counter and watching San Jose be the first team to really make them pay for their mistakes. When SSFC beat RSL early in the season it was Seattle that took advantage of the mistakes made by RSL, and that trend has continued all year as teams have been quick to pounce on RSL mistakes, while RSL has converted on other sides mistakes (Columbus at home, LA on the road, New England at home), this match really could be decided by the team making the fewest mistakes and who takes advantage when someone slips up.

For RSL there are no suspensions other than head coach Jason Kreis but the injury to Yura Movsisyan could be costly as he is out for the match and Robbie Russell is listed as doubtful, and for Seattle they are healthy and with Fredy Montero turning down a national team call up so he could play on Saturday you know they are taking this serious, they will only be missing James Riley who is suspended for a red card against San Jose. Expect a hard fought and physical match as Seattle is second in yellow cards with 43 and first in red cards with 7 and are at the bottom of the MLS fair play table.

So what can RSL do, less than stellar play from Will Johnson since his return from the Gold Cup and Fabi’s struggles with both passing and shooting should put them on the bench for this match and with Yura out I would go with this lineup:

Rimando
Wingert-Olave-Borchers-Beltran
Cox-Beckerman-Morales
Mathis-Campos-Findley

While neither Cox or Campos may be ready to go a full 90 I would rather start with an aggressive lineup and push, we can make changes at the half if needed but if we don’t push and attack early then we may find ourselves trying to play from behind again and that isn’t a position we need or want to be in. Cox has played well when given a chance and I think he is deserving of a shot for more than the final minutes of a match, put him in at the start and if he can’t handle it then pull him out but it isn’t fair to only let him play when matches have already been determined. Pablo has had time to get used to the elevation and it is time to see if the faith placed in him by Jason and Garth is well placed, time to see if he can step in for our target threat in the middle of our top 3, he has done well in practices and in limited action so it is time to step up. I love having players who can bring energy and pace off the bench, Fabi and Will both could be players to come in late and take advantage of Seattle when the elevation kicks in and give RSL a huge advantage late in the match.

So for me the matchups between Beckerman vs. Freddie and Javi and Alonso could be the keys to the match, another big match up will be to see how Tony Beltran matches up with Seattle’s wonder kid Fredy Montero whose 9 goals and 6 assists have him looking like a real MVP contender. Our backline will need to play tight and communicate as we know that Nate Jaqua has always played well against RSL including getting a goal in the March matchup at Qwest field. While Kasey Keller started the season showing he may still be the best American keeper playing, but in recent weeks in real matches he has looked human but still has a 0.98 GAA in MLS action 3^rd in the league, RSL’s Nick Rimando has been left out to dry a number of times by defensive mistakes and has seen his GAA jump to 1.17 which is still good enough for 7^th in MLS.

This match presents a unique set of challenges and so I don’t believe that at any point can we worry about taking a more defensive stance in this match, changes that I would likely make would be based on the effectiveness and fitness of players instead of the circumstances of the match or the score of the match.

At the point where Raphael is looking tired or ineffective, I bring in Will Johnson, at the point where Campos is tired or ineffective I bring in Fabi and move him to the wing and put Robbie in the middle of my top 3. I would at 60-70 take out Clint as he tends to gas out a bit and I would introduce Rachid to the fire that will be facing one of the top teams in the West. This is an important match and the key will be playin a very aggressive match and controlling possession at all costs. I believe this will truly be a match where the team that plays bold with win.

OFF MY SOAPBOX
Audentis Fortuna Juvat”

This entry was posted on August 7, 2009 at 4:05 pm and is filed under The soapbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.