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SANDY — Real Salt Lake doesn’t necessarily see last Sunday’s scoreless draw with rival Colorado as a bad thing.
But by all accounts, much like the team’s 15 shots that couldn’t hit the mark, the game was a missed opportunity at the very least.
“Absolutely, without a doubt, it’s a missed opportunity,” RSL coach Jeff Cassar said following the match. “But I still thought we had a good performance. I thought our offense clicked well and we limited them in their opportunities in the direct play.
“We defended well for the most part, and still created a lot of chances.”
Still, the weekend’s result against a team at the bottom of Major League Soccer’s Western Conference doesn’t leave a lot to be desired. There seemed to be plenty of disappointment in the home locker room at Rio Tinto Stadium after dropping two more points at home.
“It’s a result,” said goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who returned from international duty to put in a 90-minute shift and his 121st career shutout. “It’s not the result we wanted, but we had chances. We got a shutout, and that’s a positive. We’ve just got to keep going.
“It’s a long season, and we’ve got to start getting points somewhere.”
The long season gets longer with an extended break from MLS competition, as well. After Sunday, RSL (4-5-6, 15 points) will not play another competitive match in league play until it welcomes Sporting Kansas City to the Wasatch Front on June 21.
During the break, Costa Rican striker Alvaro Saborio will report for international duty ahead of a friendly against Spain on Thursday, center back Elias Vasquez was called up for a pair of Guatemala’s World Cup qualifiers against Bermuda beginning Friday, and left back Abdoulie Mansally will join his teammates from The Gambia for an African Cup of Nations qualifier Friday against South Africa.
The Salt Lake side won’t play another game in all competitions until it takes on host Seattle Sounders 2 in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on June 16 — and Cassar sees the break as a time for his team to refocus, both mentally and physically.
“We’re going to give them time off until Thursday,” the second-year head coach said. “I think the guys need to recharge their batteries, but we’ll have some workouts for them to do.
“It’s important. We won’t have another weekend off the rest of the year, and we have a very busy schedule.”
The long summer months became even longer for RSL with its return to the CONCACAF Champion’s League, and the continental champion’s group stage kicks off in August. Between now and then, RSL will try to rack up as many points as it can — starting with its stretch of six of the next games at home.
“If you have the time, it’s good to give your body a rest,” defender Tony Beltran said. “But I know all of these guys in here, and they all want to keep playing, too.”
RSL will use the break to get back to form. After the forward line of Joao Plata, Alvaro Saborio and Sebastian Jaime made their first starting appearance together of 2015 on Sunday, defender Jamison Olave was substituted early with a strain in his right quadricep, an injury RSL originally called “minor.”
With a potential two-week break, Olave’s health becomes a top priority, as well as getting players like Plata and Jaime back into full fitness. The attacking duo recently returned from injuries of their own — foot surgery for Plata and a deep bone bruise for Jaime.
“First of all, we’ll deal with some injuries,” Beltran added. “Once we come back, we’ll have a longer practice week before the next game, too. We’ll use that to regroup and go back to the drawing board and work on getting better.”
Health is paramount for midfielder Luke Mulholland, which includes a need to step away and get back to full form mentally as well.
“We just need to step away from the game, clear our heads and come back with a mindset that we’re going to be a hard team to beat,” he added. “If we string some wins together over the next two or three weeks, we can start to hit a good peak performance and be flying by the time playoffs come.”
Of course, the break also leaves “plenty of time for FIFA” video games, Mulholland said cheekily.
“I’ll let the boys on FIFA do the running and put my own feet up,” he said with a grin. “There’s a lot of time for FIFA; I’m feeling it.”
Whether it involves an X Box console or a gym membership, time away will do each RSL player some good.
“I think we just have to take some days off and get away from the game,” Rimando said. “It’s good, and I think we need it.”
