Young Defender Needs Confidence
Defender Tony Beltran hadn't started for Real Salt Lake since halfway through last year, before a lingering adductor injury turned into surgery for a sports hernia that knocked him out of most of the rest of the season.
And while Beltran said he was happy to be back, his return to the starting lineup didn't go as smoothly as he would have hoped.
The former No. 3 pick of the MLS SuperDraft seemed awfully nervous at right back early in RSL's 2-0 loss at Seattle over the weekend, twice giving the ball away on shaky passes while pushing upfield to get into the attack. Then, Seattle's Steve Zakuani -- the top pick in the most recent MLS SuperDraft -- charged at him down the left side in the 17th minute, ultimately turning Beltran around with a deft step-over move that cleared enough space for a smart cross that teammate Nate Jaqua knocked past goalkeeper Nick Rimando for the goal that set the tone.
“He's a good player,” Beltran said. “I tried to show him inside, to my help, and he cut back and just got the ball across. It's going to happen. After that, he didn't get by me. It was just one of those things.”
Coach Jason Kreis acknowledged Beltran might have been a bit anxious, but said he needs to make good decisions to fuel his confidence -- especially considering his main challenger for playing time, veteran Ian Joy, could be out at least another three weeks with a hamstring injury.
RSL plays defending champion Columbus in the home opener at Rio Tinto Stadium on Thursday night.
“Zakuani is a very dangerous player ... and I think he caused Tony to be a bit nervous,” Kreis said. “I think that for Tony, though, the possession, the touches, probably weren't as confident as they need to be. He's a player, an outside back, who likes to attack. So he has to make good decisions – good, smart decisions — with the ball and when he does that and possesses it a few times, he's going to gain confidence and gain confidence. But if he doesn't make those good decisions and doesn't possess it cleanly enough, I think he loses confidence and he's got a player like Zakuani running at him, with his speed and craftiness, it's going to be tough.”
And while Beltran said he was happy to be back, his return to the starting lineup didn't go as smoothly as he would have hoped.
The former No. 3 pick of the MLS SuperDraft seemed awfully nervous at right back early in RSL's 2-0 loss at Seattle over the weekend, twice giving the ball away on shaky passes while pushing upfield to get into the attack. Then, Seattle's Steve Zakuani -- the top pick in the most recent MLS SuperDraft -- charged at him down the left side in the 17th minute, ultimately turning Beltran around with a deft step-over move that cleared enough space for a smart cross that teammate Nate Jaqua knocked past goalkeeper Nick Rimando for the goal that set the tone.
“He's a good player,” Beltran said. “I tried to show him inside, to my help, and he cut back and just got the ball across. It's going to happen. After that, he didn't get by me. It was just one of those things.”
Coach Jason Kreis acknowledged Beltran might have been a bit anxious, but said he needs to make good decisions to fuel his confidence -- especially considering his main challenger for playing time, veteran Ian Joy, could be out at least another three weeks with a hamstring injury.
RSL plays defending champion Columbus in the home opener at Rio Tinto Stadium on Thursday night.
“Zakuani is a very dangerous player ... and I think he caused Tony to be a bit nervous,” Kreis said. “I think that for Tony, though, the possession, the touches, probably weren't as confident as they need to be. He's a player, an outside back, who likes to attack. So he has to make good decisions – good, smart decisions — with the ball and when he does that and possesses it a few times, he's going to gain confidence and gain confidence. But if he doesn't make those good decisions and doesn't possess it cleanly enough, I think he loses confidence and he's got a player like Zakuani running at him, with his speed and craftiness, it's going to be tough.”
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 9:36 AM |
3 Comments:
Singling out one player only makes sense if the team had a good game. No one on RSL played well against Seattle. Morales was horrible, his worst game ever. So why single out one player who struggled.
This shows a complete lack of ethics on your part.
beltran's best use will be massaging ian joy's injured leg - he's no use to us on the field (as a starter). and i agree with anonymous: morales was a non-factor. i do expect him to bounce back big on thursday.
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Ann
http://racingonlinegames.net
Post a Comment
<< Home