Exhibition to Set Stage for Big Finish
Coach Jason Kreis wouldn't venture to guess how drastically the RSL lineup might change when it finally resumes Major League Soccer play against lowly New York next week.
But he did make clear that tonight's exhibition against Chivas de Guadalajara will play a big role in deciding who takes the field after two dispiriting losses on the road have left RSL with no margin for error.
The players “will provide us the answers,” he said.
In other words, play hard tonight, or forget about getting a chance in the games RSL absolutely must win in order to reach the MLS playoffs again. Team officials believe they must win their last three regular-season games in a row — RSL has won three straight only once in its history — to make that happen.
Many players will play 45 minutes, the coach said, as he seeks to find which players and combinations will work best for the rest of the season. Clearly, there has been something missing recently, with the team giving away easy goals early in each of its last two losses.
“Defensively, the intensity needs to be higher,” goalkeeper Nick Rimando said.
The coaches are not worried so much about winning as playing well, and Kreis has credited his players with responding well during some hard training sessions over the last week or so. Then again, he always says that in situations like these, and it doesn't always translate into good results.
“To be honest, I'd prefer not to be in this situation,” he said. “I feel like we've got to test some guys and we've got to push the fitness and basically start from square one. We've treated this break as a mini-preseason. I would love to not be in that position. I would love to have come off a win and said, 'OK, everything's good,' and have an enjoyable time. But desperate times call for desperate measures.”
But he did make clear that tonight's exhibition against Chivas de Guadalajara will play a big role in deciding who takes the field after two dispiriting losses on the road have left RSL with no margin for error.
The players “will provide us the answers,” he said.
In other words, play hard tonight, or forget about getting a chance in the games RSL absolutely must win in order to reach the MLS playoffs again. Team officials believe they must win their last three regular-season games in a row — RSL has won three straight only once in its history — to make that happen.
Many players will play 45 minutes, the coach said, as he seeks to find which players and combinations will work best for the rest of the season. Clearly, there has been something missing recently, with the team giving away easy goals early in each of its last two losses.
“Defensively, the intensity needs to be higher,” goalkeeper Nick Rimando said.
The coaches are not worried so much about winning as playing well, and Kreis has credited his players with responding well during some hard training sessions over the last week or so. Then again, he always says that in situations like these, and it doesn't always translate into good results.
“To be honest, I'd prefer not to be in this situation,” he said. “I feel like we've got to test some guys and we've got to push the fitness and basically start from square one. We've treated this break as a mini-preseason. I would love to not be in that position. I would love to have come off a win and said, 'OK, everything's good,' and have an enjoyable time. But desperate times call for desperate measures.”
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 8:29 AM |
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home