Defense keeps New York at bay; big team blame games ignore RSL strength

Defense keeps New York at bay; big team blame games ignore RSL strength

Monday, March 19, 2012
Tags: 
analysis

Some victories are hollow: A 1-0 win at the end of a losing season, a 3-1 win over the worst team in the nation, anything involving a severely injured player. Some, however, are robust, full of life, vibrant for days and weeks after the fact. Some still attain a legendary status, and they're talked about for years to come.

This one? It falls quite firmly in the middle. It's a robust early season victory against a side that is perhaps a bit underrated — we know Hans Backe is a bit odd with his lineup decisions, but tactically, he's not a bad manager. He did well to control our passing in the box, and the Red Bulls did hold a slight advantage in possession. A quick jaunt to the chalkboards shows that we had but one successful pass in the opponent's penalty box, and that was from little Sebastian Velasquez on a supremely weighted cutback for Fabian Espindola. You know, the one that led to the goal. That one was a bit nice.

I digress, though: Hans Backe clearly stymied Real Salt Lake a bit with his  tactical decisions. Thierry Henry playing in a more attacking midfield role — perhaps that of a classic No. 10 — forced our center backs to deal with him differently than they would, say, someone who was placed further forward. It confuses markers a bit, and while I do think the former Arsenal man can be used in a more effective role (his recent loan spell back at Arsenal would seem to prove that) it was a tactically smart move.

But a tactically smart move or not, our players dealt with it superbly. The combination of Chris Schuler, Jamison Olave, and Kyle Beckerman kept Thierry Henry quiet throughout the night, and as he didn't drift into wide positions, our full backs were left to concentrate on their marking down the wings. Tony Beltran, certainly a contender for man of the match, was quietly safe on the right side, and Chris Wingert got much joy going up the left flank. This was partially down to individual performances and largely down to a solid defensive performance — particularly in our passing rhythm.

Despite losing the possession battle, our side gave us a chance to win quite handily. Through a combination of effective defensive work, heavy tracking back, and attention to our passing, we were able to ensure a nice win for our side. But for some last-ditch defending and luck on the side of New York, it could've been three or four.

That we kept a clean sheet is a testament to our hard work on and off the ball. Strong individual performances from the back five — lest we forget the vital saves Nick Rimando was forced into once or twice — and an effective collective performance from everyone on the pitch for Real Salt Lake, we got no less than we deserved.

Some will continue to speak in glowing terms about our side, and rightly so. Others, though, will continue the trend of discounting our victories against sides they claim are ostensibly broken. Sure, the Galaxy and the Red Bulls have their obvious problems, but they're teams with very, very good players who can change a match in an instant.

Additionally, while perhaps Hans Backe and Bruce Arena can come under some criticism for the way they've handled things at their respective clubs — Backe and New York for some stubbornness and misuse of players, as well as disrespect for the U.S. Open Cup; Arena and Galaxy for an underestimation of RSL and Toronto in their CONCACAF campaign — these two wins to open the season came because we played well. We've solid in nearly every aspect of our game, and it's disheartening to see that play out.

But we've been here before and we'll probably be here for a while. We're not the hot item of discussion in most circumstance, and while we're good enough to be up there, it's still much easier to simply fault the big boys for their losses.

The beauty of introspection is that the big market media — New York, Los Angeles, the like — largely controls the bulk of discussion about these two clubs. Just as we in Salt Lake look inward when we lose, looking for reasons, explanations, and excuses, the big market types do the same. It's just that when we do it — it doesn't end up dictating the national conversation. As we move forward in the league, perhaps that will change slightly. For now, we'll just have to cope with being the small market fish in the big market pond. As long as we continue to impress our fans, as long as our players have a chance at trophies: That's really what matters.