Coach Seeing Good Signs on the Road
Sure, his team still hasn't scored on the road this season.
But coach Jason Kreis was encouraged by what he saw in RSL's scoreless draw at D.C. United over the weekend, giving the team its first point on the road and keeping it easily within the Major League Soccer playoff picture.
“We focused very, very much on the defensive side,” he said, noting that defense was the cornerstone of the team's rebuilding effort, in the first place. “To see it come to fruition on the weekend is very, very rewarding.”
RSL is tied for fifth in the MLS Western Conference with 11 points, but that's only two points out of a playoff spot, after a third of the season. (The top two teams in each conference make the playoffs, along with the four teams with the next best records, regardless of conference.)
And considering that RSL now has put together two pretty good defensive efforts on the road back-to-back — its previous road game was a 1-0 loss at Chivas that was solid but for one bad clearance, for which it paid dearly — the coach is hoping that the team is starting to find its way on the road again. Not only did it defend well at United, but it also generated more good scoring chances.
“We're very pleased with that first step, now we're hoping to build on that,” Kreis said. “That's another step in the right direction. Obviously, the three points and a goal are what we're after.”
The team might have a pretty good chance this week, too, considering that it plays at San Jose — a team riding a seven-game winless streak in the league (plus another loss in U.S. Open Cup action) that has lost four in a row while being outscored by a 10-2 margin.
But coach Jason Kreis was encouraged by what he saw in RSL's scoreless draw at D.C. United over the weekend, giving the team its first point on the road and keeping it easily within the Major League Soccer playoff picture.
“We focused very, very much on the defensive side,” he said, noting that defense was the cornerstone of the team's rebuilding effort, in the first place. “To see it come to fruition on the weekend is very, very rewarding.”
RSL is tied for fifth in the MLS Western Conference with 11 points, but that's only two points out of a playoff spot, after a third of the season. (The top two teams in each conference make the playoffs, along with the four teams with the next best records, regardless of conference.)
And considering that RSL now has put together two pretty good defensive efforts on the road back-to-back — its previous road game was a 1-0 loss at Chivas that was solid but for one bad clearance, for which it paid dearly — the coach is hoping that the team is starting to find its way on the road again. Not only did it defend well at United, but it also generated more good scoring chances.
“We're very pleased with that first step, now we're hoping to build on that,” Kreis said. “That's another step in the right direction. Obviously, the three points and a goal are what we're after.”
The team might have a pretty good chance this week, too, considering that it plays at San Jose — a team riding a seven-game winless streak in the league (plus another loss in U.S. Open Cup action) that has lost four in a row while being outscored by a 10-2 margin.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 4:03 PM |
2 Comments:
"The team might have a pretty good chance this week, too, considering that it plays at San Jose — a team riding a seven-game winless streak in the league (plus another loss in U.S. Open Cup action) that has lost four in a row while being outscored by a 10-2 margin."
I'm a little worried that the team might believe this, too. And we all know what happens when the Jellacticos get overconfident.
I feel the same way. Are they a cure for our ills, or the other way around. Too often it has been the latter.
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