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SANDY — Disappointing. Disrespectful. Unacceptable.
These were the words used by members of Real Salt Lake to describe the 6-0 loss to New York City FC on Sunday — the worst loss in club history.
Less than 48 hours later, head coach Pablo Mastroeni and team leaders Justen Glad and David Ochoa addressed the media as the squad turns to the next two fixtures in a three-match week. Glad and Ochoa did not play in New York but were quick to announce their intentions to return to the pitch this week and help the team get back to "winning ways" with two more opportunities in the coming days.
"We've been talking about mentality all year. I think the mentality this group has is good," Glad said. "I think we're ready to get back to winning ways. We've got to look at ourselves in the mirror and start handling business."
Mastroeni said last week that Glad was close to returning and his steady presence on the back line would have undoubtedly helped the six-goal hemorrhaging at Yankee Stadium, but a nagging hamstring injury kept him out once again.
Glad has been itching to get back on the field and mentioned that there was a moment of tension recently when he brought his boots to practice after being instructed not to by the training staff. Both he and Ochoa expressed their trust in the training staff despite a frustratingly slow start of play this season due to injuries.
"Injuries are part of the game, and us as athletes, more me being young and wanting to get out there and help the team, I think I might rush things a little too quick," Ochoa said of his reaggravated quad injury. "I had to take it slow and really listen to the trainer so they can really take care of me. Now, I'm ready to go; the quad is healed, it feels good. I'm ready to go tomorrow and hopefully do a good job tomorrow so I can start helping the team with the games."
Back on the grind pic.twitter.com/wRNuZmns3n
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) April 19, 2022
Ochoa and Glad both said they expect to play Wednesday against Hailstorm FC in the U.S. Open Cup at Rio Tinto Stadium, giving them their first action of the season and RSL its first opportunity to move on from Sunday's loss.
"It's great for us to have really important players back into the team," Mastroeni said of the two starters returning to the lineup. "It's really good for the group. I think getting more experienced players into the group will will help us as we move forward into the season."
When asked what specifically the team can do to get back to its "winning ways," Mastroeni launched into a monologue that felt a little bit Popovich and a little bit Ted Lasso.
"Winning? How do you win, right? Everyone wants to win," he said. "Winning ways are discipline. Winning ways are doing all the little things. It's not the big things, it's all the little things. It's not turning your back on a throw in. The ball goes past you defensively, you recover in a good central position to deny their penetration. The ball goes forward, it's really moving your lines to close the spaces to be able to get ready to win the ball. It's structure. It's discipline. It's making good decisions.
"All those little things are contagious; they're little moments of belief that inspire the group. When you have 11 guys on the same page, regardless of who's on the field, it's something that breeds belief. It breeds good play. It breeds creativity. And when you have those things, it breeds results. Winning is an impossible feat unless all the little fundamentals of both the human side and the football playing side are achieved."
There you have it. As was written about last week, the injury returns are trickling in for RSL; and as the talent rises, so must the chemistry and cohesion on the field.
The first step in the return to winning ways is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. MDT against Hailstorm FC at Rio Tinto Stadium, followed by a road match Saturday against Portland at 8 p.m. MDT. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
