PORTLAND, Ore. -- Real Salt Lake started off their 2015 MLS regular season with a hard-fought 0-0 draw to the Portland Timbers on Saturday, putting in a solid defensive effort as their attack failed to find traction at a sold-out Providence Park.
And while there may be work to do on the attacking front, the team was pleased with their efforts at preventing any Portland goals on the night.
"The biggest takeaway was that defensively we were all on the same page," said Salt Lake head coach Jeff Cassar after the match, "I thought that the fight, the commitment, the passion was off the charts defensively."
The match featured the return in defense of Jamison Olave, who returned to the club after two seasons with the New York Red Bulls and put in a strong performance alongside Chris Schuler in the middle. Behind them, goalkeeper Nick Rimando had another big night against the Timbers, as he notched five saves to preserve the clean sheet.
Cassar was quick to praise his team's fight in the raucous environment in Portland, noting that the team came together in the match to put forward a strong showing at the back end. To some extent, that spirit was necessary, as the match was a foul-laden affair, with RSL racking up 22 fouls committed to the hosts' 19. Cassar also told the press that the team was "tough" and that the performance gave Real Salt Lake "something to build on."
While the Salt Lake defense may have given the team encouragement for their season, the team's offensive showing was somewhat lacking, resulting in only two shots on target in the match.
"Even though we didn't play a great game offensively," Cassar said, "we feel like it is a win to us right now because of the commitment on the defensive end and a shutout in a difficult place."
Team captain Kyle Beckerman told the press after the match that regardless of the tough night on the attacking end, a strong defense was key for RSL as the team rolled out their new 4-3-3 formation.
Said Beckerman: "With this new formation the shutouts and being good defensively are huge for us, especially early in the season, because we are still trying to get used to this new formation."
After eight years of playing a diamond midfield 4-4-2, the change has RSL building from the ground up. Beckerman, who had been a fixture at the defensive midfield spot in the diamond, discussed the difficulty of making the change away from the diamond.
"For seven or eight years it has been standard: we play the same way; everyone knows where somebody is going to be; it just becomes second nature. Now we have changed all that. We really want to focus on being good defensively and we will work from there," Beckerman continued, "but if we don't have that defense first we will be in trouble."
Asked about moving away from the diamond, Beckerman reflected, "it is proven but it is not what we do anymore. You have to move on, I guess."
