A more home-friendly schedule in July has Real Salt Lake hoping it can scramble into playoff position.
“Home games are always an opportunity that you have to grab full force, so we’re buzzing about it,” said defender Justen Glad. “We know we need to get points, climb the table and then get above that playoff line. So, yeah, we’re excited for the opportunity.”
They should be, particularly with struggling St. Louis City making the trip west for a Saturday night fixture at Sandy, Utah.
RSL (5-10-4, 19 points) currently sits 13th in the West table, seven points behind Austin for the conference’s last playoff spot. Only the top nine teams in each conference advance to the playoffs.
To jump back into the playoff picture, RSL needs to take advantage of playing four of its five games this month at home. And although its best player, Diego Luna (team-high eight goals), will be out because he’s playing for the USA in Sunday’s Gold Cup championship match, it has to bank three points against an opponent that has won just once in three months.
While RSL is coming off a 1-1 draw on June 28 at Sporting Kansas City, St. Louis (3-11-6, 15 points) limps into town after a drab 1-0 defeat the same night in Houston. The same offensive woes that have haunted it most of the year were around for the latest loss as St. Louis didn’t manage a shot on frame until the eighth minute of stoppage time in the second half.
“If we’re going to be a team that tries to build and play through opponents or around opponents, the end objective is to always try to create the shot from it or at least create the ball into the final third,” said St. Louis interim coach David Critchley. “We weren’t good enough with our build-up.”
Since starting 2-0-2, St. Louis is 1-11-4 in its last 16 matches. A defense that was holding it in games early has lost its shape over the last 11 matches, conceding a whopping 25 goals.
Joao Klauss has a team-best six goals, including four over the past three matches.
Veteran Johnny Russell has tallied in the past two matches for Salt Lake.
–Field Level Media
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