Comments about ‘Real Salt Lake: Team expects Columbus to attack more’

go out and defend?
that stupid. the dumbest thing i've ever heard. go out and play the game like men. not like a bunch of sissies. we need goals. go show em that we can play on the road. i'm gonna be so mad if i watch the game on thursday and rsl just defends the whole time. they'll score numerous times on us.

Agreed. Just go out and play ball. Win or lose like men.
If you can't win playing your game, you shouldn't be in the playoffs.

Jason RSL is in a position where they should sit back and absorb pressure, up a goal is a great place to be. RSL needs to look for counters which will be there as Columbus is forced to press for a goal.

I do think that the common message we are hearing from the coach and players regarding RSL playing to hold this one goal lead may be a ploy to lure Columbus into believing that RSL will only sit back.
We may in fact see a more offensive minded team on Thursday.
I hope to see more than 20-30 minutes from Yura Thursday, he is playing well and needs to be on the pitch.

agreed, going out planning to defend is a recipe for failure. How'd it work out for Columbus in the first leg? Exactly.

RSL should come out just as aggressive as they expect the Crew to be, and try and get that insurance goal.

I think their road woes are due to a lack of confidence, and this defend mentality doesn't help that at all.

I say put 10 players behind the ball, show that DC GM he was right!!!

Playing from behind, the Crew will have to push up...RSL plays way better when holding a lead...Road problems this year have often come from falling behind early, with this buffer, RSL can hopefully take advantage of a more open final third, if RF or Yura or Espy nick one early.....

You need to be smart. Stacking the box has some risk but you need to play smart. Smart play is stack the box and counter-attack. RSL can counter-attack. I know it is hard to shift gears but I wouldn't stop defending until after going down at least 1 goal.

"We're going to go into Columbus and defend like crazy. Hopefully, we don't give up a goal and they don't put pressure on us to have to score," said midfielder Clint Mathis. "It's important that we keep that clean sheet." Defend like crazy? What does that mean? If that means what we did in
Houston our first game down there at the end of the game where everyone sits back trying to absorb their attack, giving up good chance after good chance, we're sunk! If it means everyone is committed to putting forth effort on defense then I'm fine with it.

I don't see us being able to sit back and defend for 90 minutes without giving up a goal. I don't think we should go into an all-out attack mode, but RSL has never been good at sitting back and holding onto a slim (in this case 1-goal) lead. I hope georg is right and this is just a ploy. We have to attack. I think if we don't get at least one goal, we don't advance.

I'm torn, georg makes a good point, but we have had trouble handling 90 minutes of pressure. It may be for a variety of reasons, but our defensive tactics seem to work better when there is more space in the midfield and our backline has more room to run. They seem to be better using athleticism than pure positional tactics.

I hope RSL doesn't exaggerate injuries and waste time like Columbus did. Go out and play a solid game with energy and we'll be fine.

If this happens we will lose 2 or 3 nil. A terrible idea, this is not Blackburn Rovers or Bolton Wanderers. You cannot hold out vs that talent for 90 minutes, there is always a good chance eventually that you pay for defensively.

What a load of malarkey. The best defense is a strong offense. If you bunker in invariably one goal will slip through, and where does that leave you? RSL come out attacking! Put the yellow boys on their heels! Score again and then they'll really be in dire straights!

Please, please don't play bunker ball. Go out an attack!

GO RSL!

Get one past the keeper and they are really in trouble. We need to only play bunker ball during the first 15 minutes, 5 minutes before the half, 10 minutes after the half and 10 minutes before time. The rest of the time we have to keep them honest and make real attacks at the Crew to keep them honest. We might be the worst team in the league for bunker ball. I would rather see us all out attack and lose than bunker ball a 0-0 advance. Usually teams that play that way get their reward, for example see Chelsea in the Champion's League last year. I really hope georg is right, that we are saying that as a ploy to lure the Crew into thinking that we won't be attacking. If we want to play bunker ball why don't we just forfeit. If we can score a goal and be up 2-0 on aggragate then it ***might*** be tiem to play bunker ball but we all know 2-0 is the least safe lead in soccer. See USMNT vs Brazil, FC Dallas against us at the RioT, etc.

Remember last when RSL beat Chivas on the road. RLS played very smart in that game. They played offensive minded most of the game and came out the aggregate winner. Bunker ball is a joke. If you play bunker ball the whole time, it is probably a 90% chance you lose the game. Go RSL.

I was afraid I would hear the word bunker. The playoffs come and no one wants to open up and make a mistake. That is not our type of soccer though. We do not do well with the other team camping out on our side of the field. We are already out if that is the plan. Just play like you have been playing. A swarming defense, cut down the passing lanes, and go forward.

will not get it done tomorrow night. Come on RSL, come out and fight and go down swingin with an attacking style of soccer. One mistake is all it takes to seal the deal. Give SLC something to cheer for since the Jazz are laying eggs at the moment.

Sounds like Kreis went to the Bob Bradley school of coaching. Let's play not to lose or better yet, play for the other team to make a mistake and then try and capitalize. Instead of playing to make our own luck and create our own opporunities.

Correctly seeing what the opponent is doing. If the defensive line is getting too high or holes are opening up between it and the midfield when the Crew attacks, then a counter strategy is not bad. Otherwise, you want to dominate possession because RSL is not generally that kind of team. Also, you probably want to set an offensive tone early because the Crew won't feel pressured or overcommit unless you give them reason to panic. There's a reason why they are Cup champions and back-to-back Shield winners.

If they play bunker ball can I get a refund for the watch party. Our best chance to advance is to play defensive and what's the best way to play defensive is to go on offensive attack. that keeps the ball out of your side of the field.

I just can't wait for a 0-0 tie!