RSL forward Corey Baird (17) and Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi (20) battle during the match in Kansas City, Kan., Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. The two teams will renew their rivalry Wednesday morning in Orlando in the MLS is Back tourney. | AP
SALT LAKE CITY — As two of the more bitter rivals in Major League Soccer, Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City have had some wildly memorable showdowns on the pitch over the years, and there’s a solid level of disdain between the two fan bases.
The next episode in the rivalry will certainly be unique, as they’ll face off Wednesday morning in both teams’ final Group D game in the MLS Is Back Tournament at Disney World in Florida.
While playing at 9 a.m. ET (7 a.m. MDT) in front of no fans on a neutral field will be vastly different from the norm, RSL coach Freddy Juarez and leading goal scorer Damir Kreilach expect the contest to be as intense as matchups between the two sides always seem to end up being.
“Every game since I’ve been involved, it’s always a good game,” Juarez said during a Zoom meeting with reporters Monday. “It’s a hard-fought match and you know their team always comes out flying and has a nice style of play that creates a lot of chances and you’ve got to come out mentally strong at the beginning of the game or you could be under it right away.”
Added Kreilach: “Of course we wish we could play in front of the fans and it would be perfect, but right now it is what it is and we have in front of us another rival. The group is very confident. At the end of the day, we know the quality of KC, but it’s something about us as well.”
What won’t be different Wednesday from many of the past games between the two teams is that big things are at stake. With a win, RSL would secure the top seed in Group D as the tournament moves to the knockout phase. If the two teams play to a draw, RSL would need Minnesota United to either tie or lose to the lowly Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night to get the top seed.
With a loss, RSL would need Minnesota to lose in order to advance to the knockout stage at all. Entering Wednesday’s games, RSL and Minnesota are tied atop Group D with four points (RSL holds the goal differential tiebreaker at plus-2 to plus-1 for Minnesota). Kansas City is one point back, while the Rapids have yet to tally a point.
Besides the tournament, RSL is looking to stay unbeaten on the season, which is expected to resume in more normal fashion at the conclusion of the tournament, with tournament results counting in the table.
“We want as long as possible to stay unbeatable,” Kreilach said. “That’s what it’s all about. We want to keep the great mood inside of the team. This is what we will try to do on Wednesday as well.”
The great mood could be harder to come by if the group doesn’t fancy playing early in the morning. While players and staff are surely used to the Eastern time zone having now been in Orlando for a few weeks, even 9 a.m. is an early time to play, especially given that RSL’s first two tournament games were at night.
“It’s not easy, and I get it,” Juarez said. “I tell them, ‘Look, I played.’ It’s not easy for the staff as well. We don’t like waking up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready for a session, but no excuses. One hundred percent no excuses.
I’d rather be doing this than anything else, so for us, we’re going to put our best foot forward and have a strong mentality because we know that (Kansas City coach) Peter Vermes and his team are going to have a strong mentality, so if we don’t have it, we’re in trouble, but I know the guys will be up for it. Every game against Kansas City is always a well-fought-out match and it’s two teams that don’t want to put their hands down. They’ll play till the end.”
After Juarez said Monday that star Albert Rusnak was “day-to-day” because of a hip injury he suffered last Friday against Minnesota, RSL has ruled him out of Wednesday’s contest.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3ju0qNd
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