RSL's Cunningham fighting for starting spot vs. Crew

You'd think Jeff Cunningham would still be ticked off about being benched at halftime last Saturday in favor of a rookie. After all, with Real Salt Lake down 2-1 at the break, having the experienced Cunningham on the field seemed like RSL's best hope for an equalizer.

Ironically enough, Cunningham agreed with coach Ellinger's decision.

"I wasn't playing well, and I believe the coach was right in his decision," said Cunningham. "It was frustrating not being able to get the job done. As a player, you know you're going to go through periods where you're not scoring goals or not playing particularly well, but I'm OK with whatever decision the coaching staff makes."

The former Columbus Crew and Colorado Rapids striker seems sincere.

When he first joined RSL, Cunningham repeatedly talked about how happy he was to be joining a franchise that believed in his abilities — particularly considering his previous two clubs deemed him expendable.

Five games into the season, and with Real still in search of its first victory, Cunningham is still clinging to that positive attitude.

As for this Saturday's game, Cunningham knows his spot in the starting lineup is by no means guaranteed.

"He's got a good group of guys to choose from, and the team hasn't been doing very well as far as results," said Cunningham. "Coach (Ellinger) needs to mix it up, and I believe week in and week out you need to prove you deserve to be in the first 11."

Cunningham knows he's among them.

For this Saturday's game against the Columbus Crew, Ellinger will likely revert to the 4-4-2 formation he utilized in the first three games of the season. With Jason Kreis unavailable because of a red card suspension, Ellinger's says three guys are competing for two starting forward spots this weekend.

Those three players are Cunningham, Andy Williams and rookie Atiba Harris.

With as well as Harris has played in a substitute role the past two games, not to mention his two-goal performance in last Sunday's reserve game, Harris seems like a lock to start against the Crew.

That leaves RSL marquee players Cunningham and Williams fighting it out for one vacancy. If Wednesday's training session was any indication, Ellinger is leaning toward starting Cunningham. In Wednesday's 25-minute scrimmage Wednesday, Cunningham suited up with the projected first team, as did Nelson Akwari at right back and Mehdi Ballouchy at left midfield.

Cunningham isn't reading too much into Wednesday's first team vs. second team scrimmage.

"We still have two more training sessions, so anything can happen," said Cunningham.

If he's not among the starting 11, Cunningham says he's not just blowing smoke by saying he'll support Ellinger's decision.

"The team really hasn't gotten the job done, and changes need to be made. It has to start somewhere," said Cunningham.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com