The Colorado Rapids enter the second leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup against Real Salt Lake needing a victory on Saturday in Commerce City, Colo.
RSL (8-8-4, 28 points) earned a 2-1 home win against the Rapids (9-11-1, 28 points) on May 16. In the first leg of the rivalry series that dates back to 2005, Wayne Frederick struck first for the Rapids in the seventh minute. But Zavier Gozo found the equalizer in the 36th minute before Sergi Solans tallied the match-winner 32 minutes later.
The Rapids have retained the rivalry trophy for the past two seasons, and defender Reggie Cannon is not concerned that Salt Lake might be less aggressive, needing only a point to claim the cup.
“I couldn’t care less if they play a back eight,” Cannon said. “We are going to go out there and play our football and beat them.”
Defense will be where Real Salt Lake coach Pablo Mastroeni turns his focus. RSL are 0-4-3 in their last seven league matches. Last Saturday, Salt Lake dropped a 2-1 road match as Orlando City netted a pair of second-half goals.
“The structure is only as important as the duels inside that structure on both offense and defense,” Mastroeni said. “We’ll have one defensive action and not a second one. That’s the hardest part … Being more aggressive when we’re defending, having more bite to our game.”
Colorado and Salt Lake — along with the Portland Timbers and Minnesota United — are among four teams with 28 points in the Western Conference that are flirting with the playoff cut line.
With a jam-packed schedule between MLS and Leagues Cup games, RSL have spent most of their training time watching video.
“The last three weeks to a month we’ve done all our coaching on video,” Mastroeni said. “We haven’t touched the grass … to get into the nitty-gritty of what defending feels like.”
The Rapids have won four straight home matches and outscored visiting teams 5-0 in that span.
“We know our home form is excellent,” Colorado coach Matt Wells said. “That’s something we’ll tap into.”
–Field Level Media
