June 14th, 2007 . 7:43 am . By: Jason Benfield

Fun Facts

 - Rimando has a better Goals Against Average and Save Percentage than Dario Sala.

 - RSL are the worst offensive and second worst defensive team in the league.

 - RSL have been outscored in the first half 8-2.  FCD has outscored opponents in the first half 10-6.

 - RSL haven’t scored first in a single game this season.  Dallas are 0-4 when allowing the first goal.

Can Jason Kreis (Superstar) Resurrect The Franchise, or Will His Tampering Ways Cause The Pope to Retire?

After becoming the Head Coach after the fourth game of the season, Jason Kreis immediately changed the formation of the team from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2.  The 4-3-3 was really a 4-5-1, as Adu and Klein dropped too far back in the midfield, and the team was never a threat offensively; they were shut out in 3 of those 4 games.  Kreis encouraged the midfield to push up and attack in the new formation, allowing more players to be involved offensively.  The result was a side that scored more often, but also allowed quite a few opportunities.  Not able to keep opponents from putting the ball in the back of the net, Kreis has changed the attitude of his side once again.  For the past two games, Ballouchy has played more of a true central midfield role, just in front of the holding midfielder, and the outside backs have not been allowed to join the attack as often.  RSL successfully turned their focus towards keeping a clean sheet, but now, with two consecutive road shutouts in hand, Kreis has turned his attention to the attack.  It remains to be seen if RSL can provide a threat on offense while maintaining their shape and organization in the back.

The change in fortune of RSL defensively can be attributed to the improved performance of one player.  Between the pipes, Rimando began the season as a major liability who was pushed for his spot by a twenty year old rookie.  Successive knee injuries had taken some of his athleticism away, and Rimando’s poor positioning technique made him over-reliant on his great instincts and reactions.  However, Rimando single handedly kept the Revolution from scoring last week.  His athleticism, quickness off his line, and cat-like reflexes all seemed to return as he made several top class saves.  His change in form has given the RSL defense a rock to rely on at the back, and has made them more comfortable as a group. 

The defensive four have actually been hit by injury for the last couple of games.  Pope has played every match, and while he is still one of the better defenders in the league, he has lost a step.  Torres is the first choice to play next to him.  Torres was off to a solid start to the season, but struggled for a couple of games before picking up a knock and sitting out the past two matches.  Stewart has played both right back and center back.  He was off to a horrible start to the season, responsible for 3 goals against Chivas, and both goals came from his side of the field in the last game against Dallas (including getting absolutely torched on the Alvarez goal).  He has improved over the past two games, as he has moved to the center of the defense, but was still beaten several times against the Revolution and was saved by Rimando.  On the left, Forko has been very solid.  His worst game of the season came against Dallas, but is somewhat excusable as he picked up a hamstring strain in the first half.  The other player in the back, and one likely to take Stewart’s spot in the lineup is Kipre.  He impressed in the preseason on their trip to Spain, and was finally signed after the season started.  He has good speed and is a good athlete, especially when he is allowed to get into the attack.  His play on the left side of the defense after halftime really hindered Oduro’s impact on the game the last time these two teams met each other.

In the midfield, Adu and Klein play the wings and are allowed to attack at will.  They will be given more freedom by Kreis to dive into the middle and switch sides of the field, now that the concentration on defending is alleviated a bit.  Adu has been inconsistent.  Against Dallas last time, he really struggled to make an impact in the first half, but rebounded with a more active second and putting away a penalty.  Klein has definitely lost a couple of steps since his prime.  He is no longer a smooth player on the ball, and does not have the speed to get to the line.  His crossing ability is a strength, but the lack of a quality target limits his effectiveness.  Ballouchy plays as a true central midfielder.  He is not as involved in the attack as he has been in the past, but his passing abilities and size on the ball have allowed the team to maintain possession from this position.  Behind him is Lancos, who replaced the injured Talley in the game against FCD and seems to be improving with each match.  He is not the most physical player in the world, however, and opposing teams have had some space to operate in behind the forwards.

Up top is where RSL struggle the most.  Esky is not the player he was three years ago.  He works extremely hard, but is not a very technical player, does not combine with other forwards very well, and always goes for the golazo over placement.  His strike partner, Harris, would not see the field for any other team in MLS.  Harris has litte impact on matches and his presence is an indicator of the lack of talent for RSL at this position.  This is easily the worst srike tandem in the league, and they do not provide much of a threat.

Possible Lineups

FC Dallas

We should see the same team and formation we saw in the last game against LA.  Nunez is not fully fit yet, and the injury to Cooper keeps him out of the lineup.  Saragosa fills the holding midfielder spot better than Dax, and allows Toja to run as a true attacking mid.  Ruiz is still out for the Gold Cup as Guatemala advanced to the second round.

Real Salt Lake

RSL will stick with the 4-4-2.  Torres should come back from injury and replace Stewart in the middle, and it is believed that Kipre is fully fit and has won the job on the right.

When Dallas attacks

FCD finally got out of a run this past week, when they put 3 goals past LA.  Oduro and Alvarez supply good athleticism and pace on the wings, although Alvarez tends to fall a bit too deep into the midfield and takes himself out of the game at times.  Abe has shown the ability to combine pretty well with other players.  Toja was an absolute monster last week, winning balls all over the field and making great runs from deep into the box.  FC Dallas will concentrate most of the attack against the perceived weakness of RSL, the outside defenders.  However, Kipre will be able to handle the athleticism of Arturo much more effectively than Stewart, and a healthy Forko should be able to slow down Oduro a little bit better.  Pope will be able to handle Thompson.  The biggest match up advantage for FCD is Toja over Lancos.  Ballouchy will hang back a bit as a defensive mid, but is not a good enough defensive player to really help Lancos out enough.  Expect another fantastic match out of the Hoops’ MVP.

When RSL attacks

The FCD central defense has really improved since the start of the season.  Yi had a very good game after Goodson picked up an injury against Houston, and followed it up with a good performance against LA.  Goodson has had a fantastic season, although he was bailed out last week by Sala after he lost Jaqua on the header attempt at the start of the second half.  The central defenders should be able to handle the RSL attackers pretty easily.  On the outside, Moor has had a disappointing last two weeks.  After a string of solid performances, including frustrating Adu a couple of weeks ago, he was disastrous in the second half against Houston.  Last week, he made a poor decision to leave his mark (Jones) in order to pressure a player (Jaqua) who was already covered by three players.  The open Jones had his shot cleared off the line, but it was eventually put back in by Findley.  Moor will need to get back on track and make better defenders against the tricky Adu.  Gbandi will be able to handle Klein on the other side.  Ricchetti and Saragosa will be able to take Ballouchy out of the game offensively.

Final Analysis

RSL are expected to put more of an emphasis on offense on this match, but the match ups just aren’t there to start the game.  Adu wasn’t effective against FCD the last time until he was pushed into the middle; at some point of the match, expect Harris to be pulled off, Williams to be brought on as an outside winger, and Adu to to be moved up top.  Dallas has better players and a better team, but Salt Lake is a difficult place to play.

I think we see a more effective RSL defense than we saw in the last meeting in Dallas.  FCD will get a goal at some point during the run of play, but once again they run out of gas in the second and can’t hold a clean sheet.

RSL 1, FCD 1

Categories: Match Preview.

7 Comments

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI

Leave a comment