Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SANDY — Real Salt Lake continues its busiest month of the season Saturday as it faces Major League Soccer Western Conference opponent the Los Angeles Galaxy for the third and final meeting during this regular season.
Saturday’s match also begins another three-games-in-eight-days stretch for the Salt Lake club, the second of the month, but RSL sideline boss Jason Kreis says his club will take one at a time.
“We’ll do what we always do,” Kreis told ESPN 700 Tuesday. “We’re going to be very focused on the Galaxy game and we’re not going to concern ourselves at all with Portland until we get the Galaxy game in our pocket. We’ll go after L.A. with full bore and full vigor and see what we can bring home from that match and then we’ll make an assessment on how we need to handle the Portland match and the Saturday match against Columbus on the return.”
The Salt Lake club enters the match on a three-match unbeaten streak (2-0-1) for the month of August. RSL also sits comfortably atop the MLS Western Conference with a five-point cushion and a total of 41 points on the season with a current 12-7-5 record.
The Galaxy sits a handful of slots behind the Salt Lake club with 34 points and a 10-9-4 record. Los Angeles enters the match off a run in the International Champions Cup earlier this month and fresh off a 3-3 draw Sunday in Texas against MLS opponent F.C. Dallas where forward Landon Donovan netted the hat trick for the Galaxy.
He’s a player who’s perhaps playing his best year yet in his soccer career, both in league play and international play, and could cause some problems for RSL this weekend — but Kreis says his roster is ready to focus on Donovan.
“I think that we’re seeing the renewed and reinvigorated Landon Donovan that I think he was alluding to all the reasons why he needed a break and I think he’s benefited from that, the league has benefited from that, U.S. Soccer has benefited from that and it’s terrific for the Galaxy,” Kreis said. “(Donovan) is a player that’s at the top of his game right now, the top of his form, and I’m sure at the top of his happiness. And he’s somebody that we know — every time we go there, every single year, multiple times a year, he’s the one that we’ve got to focus on.”
However, Donovan isn’t the only player RSL has its eye on going into Saturday as the club looks to extend its spot atop the standings to 44 points.
“(L.A.) also has another guy, (forward) Robbie Keane, that’s not so bad himself, so it’s a really talented, attacking group,” Kreis said.
Following Saturday in Los Angeles, RSL will travel to face the Portland Timbers four days later, Wednesday Aug. 21, before returning to its home pitch inside Rio Tinto Stadium to host Eastern Conference opponent the Columbus Crew Saturday, Aug. 24. Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
