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SANDY — Real Salt Lake could’ve been frustrated, bitter, angry, upset or all of the above after the nine-man Salt Lake squad lost 1-0 at the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday.
But there’s no time for that — one of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer is in town this weekend.
RSL (5-6-6) will try to contain MLS-leading scorer Kei Kamara and Columbus Crew SC on Saturday when the Ohio squad visits Rio Tinto Stadium at 8 p.m.
“He has great feet, and he can finish,” RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando said of Kamara, who has 12 goals and two assists in 2015. “He’s someone we have to circle on the board and make sure there is someone on him at all times. We’ll be aware when the ball isn’t on him.”
Kamara has the Crew (5-6-5) rising at the height of the summer months in MLS, just as several clubs — RSL included — are sending players off to international duty for this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup. Rimando and midfielder Kyle Beckerman will represent the U.S. men’s national team at the biennial event, and left back Demar Phillips (Jamaica), striker Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica) and Elias Vasquez (Guatemala) will each represent their countries for the regional tournament that kicks off July 7.
Going away for the next month has left Rimando motivated to pick up as many points as he can before boarding a flight for the USA’s pre-Gold Cup friendly in Nashville.
“We’re going to miss a lot of games, and we want to be here with the guys and get results while we can,” Rimando said. “When we’re here, we want to make the most of it. Tomorrow’s our last game until we go away, so we want to go away with the win.”
That starts with the offensive-minded Crew.
Columbus has scored 23 goals in 16 games, including Wednesday’s 2-1 win over New England. The Crew have averaged 5.13 shots on frame per game, but goalkeeper Steve Clark also has been forced into 55 saves this year — the third-most in MLS, showing a potential area that RSL could exploit.
“It shows what they are capable of: their attack is lethal at times, but with that being said, they give up a lot of opportunities,” RSL coach Jeff Cassar said of the Crew. “We need to make sure we are in good positions defensively, and then make them pay for being so spread out in the attack. The teams that can do that tend to do well against them. Against the teams that don’t put away their chances, Columbus is going to get theirs.”
Columbus winger Ethan Finlay leads MLS with nine assists, and the fourth-year pro also has two goals on the year. But Kamara and Finlay are just two highly rated players put together by Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter since the club inked him to a contract in 2013.
“I think Berhalter has done a really good job with them,” RSL defender Tony Beltran said. “Over the past couple of years, he’s brought in a lot of guys who can really fit a system that he’s developed. They’re very organized, a hard-working team, and (Justin Meram) and Finlay on the wides are both very capable players that I rate highly.”
Still, RSL will try to get three points out of a home date with its starter before international duty briefly scatters much of the team. To do so will require plenty of fight — something Cassar said he saw plenty of after Phillips and midfielder Javier Morales were both sent off with red cards in New York.
“We missed an opportunity to move up in the table, but the fight we had for two games in a row showed our character,” said Cassar, whose team is appealing Morales’ suspension. “If we can have that and keep 11 players on the field against Columbus, it would be very good for us.”
SCHULER, OLAVE UPDATE — Cassar said Chris Schuler is getting closer to availability for RSL after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in May. The center back will play for RSL’s third-division affiliate Real Monarchs via loan in Saturday’s game at Arizona United SC in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The game, which kicks at 8:30 p.m. MDT, will be played on a natural grass surface.
“It’s a good opportunity for him to get as many minutes as he can,” Cassar said of Schuler. “He can have a good rollout, and then hopefully make himself available for us.”
Olave, meanwhile, saw a setback in training Friday morning as the Colombian center back continues his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury last month. The extent of the setback is unknown.
“Jamison is moving in the right direction, and then today had to jump out of practice because he felt something,” Cassar said.
That leaves Aaron Maund and academy product Justen Glad likely starting another game in central defense for RSL, with rookie Phanuel Kavita as the duo’s lone backup.
“I think you have your mistakes here and there, and you’ll always get that from young players. But I thought the response has been great,” Rimando said of Maund and Glad. “Everything we’ve asked, they are trying to do. I think the more games they get, the better they will be together.”
