For Kreis, young subs against Seattle show positive signs

Real Salt Lake's 0-0 draw with Seattle was a frustrating one, but some bright spots did emerge from the bench in the form of midfielders Sebastian Velasquez, who looked bright and energetic with the ball at his feet, and David Viana, who came on for his MLS debut.

There were positives to be had for the young players involved despite the draw, RSL coach Jason Kreis said.

"It's a terrific experience, first and foremost, to be out there in front of 30-something-thousand screaming Seattle fans in such a big game," Kreis said after training on Friday. "I think they're all going to remember that. It's also something to draw off of, to put them into that kind of pressure cooker situation and have them to do pretty well - we have to feel pretty good about that."

For Kreis, late substitute David Viana showed promise in his MLS debut.

"I think he was OK - he had some really good moments and made a mistake or two," Kreis said. "Tactically, I'm a little confused as to why he dropped so deep for us when I put him on as a forward. But all in all, I think he showed some bright spots and things to work with."

Kreis said Justin Braun's absence was down to injury, but that the striker needs to show more on the ball.

"We're dealing with several injuries with his groin, his ankles and such," Kreis said. "He's going to have to just be better with the ball. In the training sessions, we need him to do certain things. We're a very possession-oriented team, so he needs to make better decisions with the ball, he has to hold the ball up for players to join into attack."

Part of that's down to Braun training well day-in-day-out - something that requires experience, Kreis said.

"For me, it's training at a high level every day, having that demand placed on you every single day with very, very good players," he said. "It's a learning experience that takes time."

Should he be deemed sufficiently recovered from injury, Braun may yet be on the bench on Tuesday, with Saborio out through yellow card accumulation, and Emiliano Bonfigli largely anonymous against Seattle.