RSL: Slow start, miscues, too much to overcome against Atlanta

Real Salt Lake dropped points at home as defensive miscues and a slow start were too much to overcome in the first ever meeting against Atlanta United.

Real Salt Lake didn’t do themselves any favors as MLS newcomers Atlanta United visited the Salt Lake Valley, rounding out their four game road trip. The 3-1 scoreline doesn’t do justice to the back and forth contest, but does show how Atlanta capitalized on RSL’s mistakes and head home with a well deserved three points. Here are some things that stood out from the match.

Defensive Giveaways

The back line was the same for the third straight match for RSL. The defense held up well, for the most part, against the speed and pressure of the Atlanta attack. Just ten minutes into the match, however, things went sideways. Nick Rimando uncharacteristically cleared the ball directly up the middle to Atlanta midfielder Miguel Almirón. Almirón played a through ball to Yamil Asad, leaving Rimando on an island as the defense tried to get back.

Rimando was able to save Asad’s shot, and the subsequent rebound by Hector Villalba, but Villalba reacted quickly and scored on the third attempt. Atlanta would not have another shot the remainder of the first half.

To start the second half, Rimando played a choppy ball to Chris Wingert, who was unable to control the pass. Almirón jumped on the poor touch and then danced Rimando out of position before finding Asad for the open goal. The 2-0 lead allowed Atlanta to sit back as RSL tried to save the result. A 70th-minute goal from Albert Rusnák following a brilliant run by Demar Phillips put Real back in striking distance. The club shifted to a three-man back line, but a missed offside trap in injury time left Atlanta attacker Brandon Vazquez one on one with Matt Van Oekel, who buried his chance and secured the 3-1 win for United.

Outside of the mistakes, RSL did well to limit the Atlanta attack. United only had one shot on goal that didn’t come directly from a giveaway. Atlanta’s sitting back contributed to that stat, but three goals directly from mistakes made the outcome much more frustrating.

More Injuries

The injury plagues that has been running rampant through the roster just keeps going. Nick Rimando was pulled in the 58th minute with a leg injury and Chris Wingert in the 70th with a head injury. Midfielder Jordan Allen was also subbed of with a hamstring injury in the 40th minute of the Monarchs match. Allen was looking to gain fitness in his recovery. Details still aren’t available to the full extent of their injuries.

The roster situation is very disappointing, with nine players now listed on the injury report. Aaron Maund and Tony Beltran are slated to get time with the Monarchs this week, but the injury to Wingert means Chris Schuler and Justin Schmidt are the only healthy center backs on the roster.

The lack of depth in the back could see RSL change formations this week against rival Sporting Kansas City. With Wingert’s injury, Petke opted to bring on another attacking player in Sebastian Saucedo and play with a three-man back line the rest of the game. The attack heavy lineup could be seen again against an SKC team that has only allowed three goals this year, while only scoring six.

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The Final Third

Things haven’t been able to click for RSL in the final third. Overall, Real only completed 56% of their passes in the area. The club also only completed three of their 15 attempted crosses. While RSL has shifted to a more long-ball focused attack, such poor form both in crossing and in front of the goal have created many wasted chances for the Claret & Cobalt.

Real will have a tall task trying to get the attack going in the next two weeks. Opponents SKC and FC Dallas are tied in fewest goals allowed this season. Head coach Mike Petke gave his thoughts on the matter in his post game interview:

"At the end of the day guys I said it to you, whoever has been here the last two games, you know everyone said oh you won the first game, oh you won two in a row, after not winning since whenever, or how every long it has been. I told you guys it doesn’t matter if we won or lost, it’s a building process. This does nothing to put a kink in what we are trying to do. It is the same as if we won 3-1 tonight. It doesn’t change anything with how we are preceding going forward. You know at the end of the day it’s a good learning curve for us and we are going into a very tough game next week versus Kansas City."

Next: DeAndre Yedlin headed back to the EPL

The ongoing process could have some rough patches the next few weeks, but the team is slowly showing a change of direction in a positive way. Overall, Atlanta has proven to be a quality side and RSL did not look overwhelmed against the expansion side, unlike other teams around the league. While the mounting injuries are forcing the team to test its depth, there is still a sense of optimism about the club moving forward.