Three things to do better after a loss to the Whitecaps

A match against Vancouver was always going to be hard. They have been fantastic this season while not being perfect and have developed a but of an SKC-style mentality.

They do one thing and they do it so well that if you can’t stop them, they are going to roll over you. They are fast and well-organised, and they use the physicality of their defence. The speed of their attack means they get the ball from one end of the park to another before you even know.

To be honest, I think scoring two goals against them is actually a very good sign for this team and I don’t think this loss is a slight against the team, even though it hurts out playoff chances. We still posted our usual stats, dominating in every area of the game and generally controlling the game, we just came undone on the counter. So do we really need to do something drastic after this loss or should we continue as we’ve been doing?

Keep on ‘Keeping on...

It’s a rare thing to have to say that Nick Rimando had a bad game but it’s concerning to say it more than once in a season. However, here we are again after a game where Nick Rimando had a bad game. After spilling the first goal into the back of the next, he was left in a complete no man’s land on the third.

Does he need more help in defence there? Sure he does; we turned over the ball in our own danger zone and were made to pay, but he was rooted to the spot as that ball came past him, and it would have taken a very strange turn of events for Reyna to miss a target that big.

It’s hard to see things change. Nick and Kyle Beckerman are the last two guys from the glory years of RSL, outlasting even Javier Morales. Nobody wants to face up to the fact that soon Real Salt Lake will be legend-less but even more daunting is nobody knows when the hammer will fall. Everybody assumed Morales would retire at RSL and look how that has turned out for everyone. Nick will ride out this season as the keeper but a choice needs to be made, especially with Lalo Fernandez moving on, about our shot stopper next season.

Don’t Panic

As I said, losing to Vancouver isn’t a shock. The way we play and our form this season played into every one of their strengths. We’ve dominated games week in and week out but failed to finish our chances and Vancouver know how to tear a team like that apart. RSL needed to do one thing to stop the Whitecaps and that was score. Making them chase the game would have had them throw their game plan out and forced them into our game which they wouldn’t win. As they say, goals change games!

Wait, what...

What raised my eyebrows more than anything else is Yura Movsisyan picking up a start again for Real Salt Lake in 2017! What on earth is that about! After I just got done comparing him to Devon Sandoval Alan Gordon as a supersub! I have faith that it made sense to start him, and if he had managed to get on the end of Chris Wingert’s cross, then Petke’s faith in him would have been justified — but I don’t know why a you’d bench a red-hot Luis Silva for a Yura Movsisyan with a chip on his shoulder.

#StartSilva

Both LA and Minnesota have 3 games on Real Salt Lake and that’s a worry. Sure, one of those games is against each other but we too have LA to play and that’s what we call a “six point game”. It’s not going to be long until the team needs to turn it’s eyes towards the off season, the draft and the Monarchs to try and see what we need pushing forward. It’s been a tough season but one were we’ve all grown together as fans of the club and galvanised within the hardship. Hardship I’m likely to go through again as the Jags start their season today with Blake Bortles throwing things. Which is why I really need RSL to win against Portland when they visit the Rio Tinto on the 16th.