Real Salt Lake takes on the Portland Timbers on Thursday in the club’s first preseason match against an MLS opponent in Tucson, Arizona. After two matches against San Diego State University and Tijuana during the Oceanside, California, phase of camp, RSL is now progressing toward 2016’s opening match against Tigres in the Quarterfinal Round of CONCACAF Champions League with a bit more urgency and focus as the preparations draw more complete.
“We’re just looking for more consistency, doing the right things for longer stretches,” Head Coach Jeff Cassar said. “Hopefully the offensive side is coming along a little bit more. That doesn’t necessarily mean it has to come with production right now, but we want to see the right movements. Then also making sure we’re defensively sound.”
The defense drew praise for what it did in stretches in California, but one costly error against Tijuana turned a would-be shutout into a 1-0 defeat. Ironing out those deficiencies will be key in getting the team on track for the Champions League.
Integrating new players is also a focus on Thursday. With Yura Movsisyan and Chris Wingert back in the mix with RSL after six years and one year away, respectively, and Sunday Stephen Obayan also ready to fight for a starting spot, the levels of competition are high in training. That carries over onto the field as players elevate their games to earn starting positions.
Cassar indicated that he plans to use a prospective starting lineup for 60 minutes in the match on Thursday, getting players on schedule for the mid-week match in two weeks against Tigres. Getting that match-experience is important in building fitness, sharpness and chemistry on the field.
“You can try to simulate as much as you can during training sessions, but the game is the best teacher,” Cassar said. “That’s why you come to these kinds of tournaments so you can get really quality games.”
RSL will play four matches while in Arizona before departing for Mexico. Those will feature three matches against MLS opponents and a fourth against a club from South Korea. Cassar intends to utilize all four matches in different ways to help prepare his team for stiff competition around the corner.
“These first two games, we’ll push the guys a lot harder than we typically would to prepare them for the game,” he said. “After the second game, we’ll really start to focus in on what we’re going to do against Tigres and preparing the guys.”
Kickoff for Thursday’s game is scheduled for 11:30 am MT, with a live stream of the match on RSL.com.
