In what was originally intended to be an intrasquad scrimmage, Real Salt Lake instead will meet NK Istra from Croatia on Saturday from Casa Grande, Arizona. It will be RSL’s first chance to implement some of the altered defensive principles that have been the focus of the first five days of training camp.
RSL and Istra will play three 30-minute periods as Head Coach Jeff Cassar looks to ease his team into game shape with the 2017 MLS regular season just around the corner on March 4 when RSL hosts Toronto FC at Rio Tinto Stadium.
“I just want to see that they’re beginning to grasp what we’ve been working on. Obviously, I would love to see them have success within it, I don’t think it’s going to happen every single time in every area that we’ve worked on. But I think it will be great for their mentality to see themselves having success,” Cassar said. “It’s just getting another 30 minutes of work in on a big field and achieving the things that we’ve worked on.”
Real Salt Lake has put most of its attention on the defensive side of the ball thus far, focusing on shape in different quadrants of the field. With such a good mix of new players expected to make an impact and returning players with plenty of experience, the three teams RSL will field will feature a mixture of players as Cassar looks to build particular partnerships on the field. And with so many bodies in camp, Cassar plans to field three different teams on Saturday.
“We don’t want to overtax them. The intensity has been fantastic so far,” he said. “We just want to continue building that without pushing anybody too hard.”
Istra is in their winter break and sit eighth in the Croatian first division, just two points out of sixth at the halfway point. That will provide good opposition for RSL in the club’s first preseason match and put a good cap on what has been a productive week in Casa Grande.