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Midway through his postgame news conference, a question was posed to Jeff Cassar. Heading back to Utah, facing a 2-0 deficit and in need of a memorable home performance against Tigres UANL, does Cassar believe his team is still alive in this CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series?
"Without a doubt," Real Salt Lake's coach said. "One hundred percent."
Through his scouting process of Tigres, the defending Liga MX champions, Cassar pointed to a series Tigres and its fan base are very familiar with as evidence. In the Liga MX Apertura final, Tigres dominated the first leg at home in Monterrey.
The return leg at Pumas UNAM? A 3-0 loss, which set up dramatic extra time periods and, eventually, a penalty kick shootout, in which Tigres emerged the victors.
"We feel we can do the same," Cassar said.
For the first time in a month, RSL will be able to unpack its bags. Over the course of the last month, players and staff have bounced from Oceanside, Calif., to Tucson, Ariz., and eventually to Monterrey.
Returning home could make the second leg of this series more intriguing, should RSL finish the scoring chances created — something it failed to do in Leg 1 on Wednesday in Mexico.
"We created the chances [Wednesday], and so we feel like we can create even more back at home," said RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman. "We've just got to finish. If we can finish them, we'll be right back in it. Anything's possible then."
RSL had five shots on goal in the first leg at Tigres and put itself in a few opportunities to take an early lead. At Rio Tinto Stadium on March 2, RSL will be pressed to open up to create — and capitalize — if it wants to have a say in the final outcome as the match wears on.
"The difference-maker is putting those [scoring opportunities] in the back of the net," Cassar said. "That can change games, that can change momentum."
RSL needs at least a 2-0 win in regulation time in Leg 2 to push the Champions League quarterfinal into extra time in Sandy. Grabbing an early lead and putting pressure on Tigres is the ideal start for RSL on Wednesday. But in a two-leg series that places tiebreakers on road goals scored, a goal by Tigres in Sandy would all but seal RSL's fate.
Back home, Cassar said his team could benefit from playing a more direct style. Rather than meticulously knocking the ball around, he'd like to see RSL try to play quickly from the back line up to the forwards or a few quick passes over the top.
That emphasis could benefit RSL by finding forwards Yura Movsisyan, Joao Plata and Burrito Martinez and getting them more involved.
"Look at the quality we have on our team, [the] chances [we were] able to create here, I expect that to be even more at home," Cassar said. "If we can get an early goal, we can make this really interesting."
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
Real Salt Lake vs. Tigres UANL
P CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series
Leg 1 • Tigres UANL 2, RSL 0
Leg 2 • Wednesday, March 2, 8 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium
TV • FOX Sports 2
Radio • 700 AM