High stakes accompany Rio Tinto debut

SANDY, Utah -- There's no way the stakes could be higher for Real Salt Lake in its Rio Tinto Stadium debut.

Opening a brand-new stadium against the New York Red Bulls in front of a national television audience creates enough pressure by itself. Needing three points to make sure a first-ever playoff bid stays within reach pours it on in headache-inducing quantities.

"There's a lot at stake in this game and we know that," RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. "But we're coming out to get three points and not looking ahead of that."

Still, the RSL side feels good about where it is at heading into its match against the Red Bulls. Real wanted nothing more than to actually play for something other than pride come October.

That wish has come true.

"We're exactly where we set out to be at the beginning of the year," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "We envisioned opening our stadium at the end of the year and we envisioned these being extremely meaningful games."

RSL's players got a small taste of what's to come with their primetime match when they practiced under the lights on Monday evening. Already Rio Tinto Stadium feels like a second home to them, rather than just the site of their home games.

The move from an artificial surface to grass is already drawing rave reviews after just a handful of practices. Midfielder Kyle Beckerman said it's perfect for establishing a short-passing game and it will help eliminate some of the past injury problems for RSL.

Defender Nat Borchers thinks it will be easier to judge the bounce and direction of a ball better on grass than on turf -- making it a simpler task to control possession much more effectively.

Add in the proximity of the fans to the field and a backdrop of the picturesque Wasatch Mountains and you have just the right ingredients to cook up a home field advantage rivaled by few clubs.

"It's perfect for an American stadium," Borchers said.

Things seem to be coming together just at the right time for RSL to make Rio Tinto Stadium the kind of fortress Rice-Eccles Stadium used to be.

Real went unbeaten during their most recent two-game road swing. RSL claimed a victory at San Jose and salvaged a draw at New England. Picking up four points through that stretch provides ample evidence to the team that it has made progress in recent weeks.

Earlier in the season a game like the one against the Revs would likely ended as a come-from-ahead loss.

"We feel like we've been knocking on that door all year -- especially in our last bunch of away games," Beckerman said. "We've been playing really good. We've been in the lead most of these games and we haven't been able to finish it out."

One challenge ahead of RSL with their new grass field is that it is just the sort of bigger field the club has traditionally struggled with. In the past, RSL has struggled on wider fields -- like the one at The Home Depot Center, for example -- because it spreads things out more and favors a team with quicker players on the wing.

Since the addition of such flank players as Robbie Russell and Will Johnson, however, wider grass fields have become less of an issue. They mix speed with solid technical play, something that has elevated the play of RSL as a whole on wide fields.

On the injury front, defender Tony Beltran is closer to returning to action since undergoing sports hernia surgery last month. Progress for Dema Kovalenko and Fabian Espindola is much slower going. Both saw limited practice time on Monday, but neither player is expected to be available for the 18-man roster on Thursday.

Also sidelined is Andy Williams. The veteran midfielder will sit out for a game after being given a red card for shoving Jay Heaps in the match with New England last weekend.