- Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni rotates XI to get job done
- Wolff, Gozo both find scoresheet
- Brilliant Caliskan bags goal & assist
- Silva, Ruiz also impress with confident showings
Real Salt Lake continued its Coachella Valley Invitational preseason series with a commanding 3-0 drubbing of USL Championship side Las Vegas Lights in the team’s penultimate preseason friendly game in Indio, California on Saturday afternoon.
German midfielder Noel Caliskan netted a fine effort in the 25th minute to put RSL in front before youngster Zavier Gozo doubled his side’s lead with a mighty header from a corner just five minutes later. New signing Tyler Wolff then sealed the result less than five minutes into the second half, in the 49th minute, with a composed close-range finish as Pablo Mastroeni’s charges picked up their first win of preseason in style.
On the back of a 1-1 draw in the team’s previous outing against St. Louis City SC, HC Mastroeni made a full set of changes to the side that started Wednesday’s stalemate with a view towards working the entire squad back to complete fitness ahead of the February 19 competitive opener against Herediano in the upcoming CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Former Napoli goalkeeper Rafael Cabral was given the nod to start in between the sticks, while defenders Tommy Silva, Sam Junqua, and Javain Brown all completed the back four alongside Caliskan. Colombia international Nelson Palacio was selected to start at the base of midfield alongside Argentine Pablo Ruiz, who was also handed the captain’s armband. Winger Gozo was also drafted in to start out wide on the right, with Wolff on his opposite side on the left – both flanking former Marshall University midfielder Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos, playing in the no. 10 position behind Australian striker Ari Piol, who was handed a start at the tip of RSL’s attacking spear (no. 9 position) on Saturday.
Starting lineup and base formation
(Formation created with FotMob’s https://www.fotmob.com/lineup-builder free online builder platform.)
RSL began the game very much in the ascendancy, with the team’s high pressing and intensity proving near-impossible for its opponents to solve, and subsequently got its first sight at goal less than 10 minutes in when a freekick from midfielder Ruiz, curled in towards the far post from 40 yards out, whistled narrowly wide past the goal. The Claret-and-Cobalt continued to dominate the majority of proceedings, confining their opponents to operating almost exclusively within their own defensive third, save a rare counter, and finally seized the lead in the 25th minute when Caliskan, playing as a right back, arrived promptly on scene to connect with a cross from Silva and steer in an effort beyond the goalkeeper to draw first blood.
Caliskan, 24, was enjoying a stellar game, with his aptitude on the ball also allowing him to invert forward into midfield from his starting right-back position, and higher up, still, to support attacking moves – a feature of the team’s evolved game model – and eventually turned from goalscorer to provider just five minutes after the opening goal as a wonderful demonstration of his abilities. In the 30th minute, the former Portland Timbers midfielder delivered a corner kick, curling in from the left-hand side, towards teammate Gozo who rose highest in the penalty area and met his fellow teammate’s pass with a towering header which nestled inside the goal to double RSL’s advantage on the afternoon and give the team a comfortable lead with halftime looming.
The second half continued in much the same way as the first, with RSL being irrepressibly dominant. The team had smelled blood, and they weren’t backing down without a taste of more. They say two-nil (2-0) is the most dangerous lead in football; Mastroeni’s men clearly didn’t get the memo as two quickly turned to three soon after the second-half restart when one of RSL’s dual 10s - Wolff - profited from a turnover high up in the opposition half and clinically dispatched an effort past the keeper for RSL’s third goal in a thoroughly one-sided affair.
With the game now effectively settled as a contest, it was largely one-way traffic from that point on as the Claret-and-Cobalt seemed to set up camp in the Lights’ half with wave after wave of intensity and pressure. With a subsequent slew of second-half substitutions taking place 15-20 minutes from time, Mastroeni’s charges launched an all-out assault on the opposition goal as Ruiz, Wolff (again), and substitutes Alex Katranis and Diogo Gonçalves all came oh so tantalizingly close to adding their names to the scoresheet, as RSL — in the end — were made to settle for a confidence-boosting 3-0 victory over their Division II opponents.
What Did Pablo Mastroeni Say?
When asked what his thoughts were on his team’s general performance, RSL boss Mastroeni explained:
“I felt it [the performance] was good. I think we’d been struggling to find the back of the net [in previous games], but today we were able to do that well and take control of the game. There was a lot of good play between the boxes but having some production in both penalty areas – defending well when we had to and also finishing our chances – was really important for the group today and I think it’s a step in the right direction, and we’ll just continue to fine-tune the different areas of our game.”
On youngsters Silva, Gozo, and Caliskan all providing fine showings:
“Noel has been having a fantastic preseason, playing out of position as a right back but still finding ways to impact the game, and I think that’s really important for any player but particularly for players who aren’t regular starters, and what that does is that it just brings up the level of trust within the [whole] group, so that was really good from Noel.
“Gozo, also, was very opportunistic on his set-piece opportunity, had some really good actions within the game, and worked his tail off, and Tommy had a steady performance on both sides of the ball, so I think the important thing is to make sure that we’re taking steps in the right direction and I feel today those guys, in particular, had really good performances.”
On midfielder Ruiz’s comeback from injury, and progression and performances throughout preseason until this point, Mastroeni further shared:
“I think, with Pablo, it’s really just about getting back into the group and re-experiencing what it feels like to compete after a year and a half away with an injury. I think it’s gonna be quite a road to get him back to where he was and feeling comfortable, but I [also] think with every performance, he takes steps in the right direction. I thought his distribution was really good, and his communication as well, so I think it’ll take some time, but he’s definitely turning in the right direction.”
What's Next for RSL?
The Claret-and-Cobalt return to preseason action next Wednesday, February 12, against the New York Red Bulls in the team’s final match of its preseason Coachella Valley Invitational series. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. MT, with the game streaming LIVE on the Club’s official website here, and on the Club’s YouTube channel.
