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Sandy • When Real Salt Lake's early haymaker was eventually countered in the later rounds Saturday evening, Jeff Cassar looked down the end of his bench. There the first-year head coach saw his club's all-time leading scorer and a shiny new Designated Player ready to make his RSL debut.
Knowing full-well just how necessary a victory over FC Dallas was, Cassar threw on Sebastian Jaime. Nine minutes later, the decision was made to put on Alvaro Saborio. How many teams in Major League Soccer have the luxury of putting on two Designated Players? Answer: Not many.
"There's no letdown ever," Cassar said. "Once we move one player out and bring somebody on, it's becoming relentless. That keeps teams pinned back, that keeps them honest, so they can't move up the field, and it's going to be nice to be able to move a player and bring somebody on that's just going to be as productive."
Which will make the last seven games of 2014 even more interesting. Jaime showcased some of his abilities in the attack in his debut, while Saborio's extraordinary goal — exactly 13 seconds after stepping onto the pitch for the first time in nearly four months — solidified three points in the 2-1 win.
With RSL (12-5-10, 46 points) staying within earshot of league-leading Seattle (16-7-3, 51 points) and the L.A. Galaxy (14-5-7, 49 points) in the developing Western Conference playoff picture, a welcomed, but new challenge is now presented to Cassar and his staff.
Not once through RSL's first 27 regular-season matches has the entire forward corps been totally healthy or available for selection. The club's leading scorer in 2014, Joao Plata, missed Saturday night's match while away with the Ecuadorian national team. The various injuries to Saborio, Plata and Robbie Findley throughout the year could now evolve into fortified depth down the stretch. Findley notched his first goal of the year Saturday, while Olmes Garcia has been consistent in his last few starts.
Is it suddenly an embarrassment of riches at an ideal time?
"Every team goes through that throughout the year," Findley said. "It's just a matter of peaking at the right time. Everybody is getting healthy and coming back, so it's the right time and we still have some work to do."
Odds are, Cassar and Co. will have all six of the club's forwards to choose from ahead of Friday's match at Seattle, an outing that will further spell out where RSL sits in the race for the Supporters' Shield.
Will Saborio earn his first start since May 11? Will Jaime get his initial nod with the starters? Or will Cassar allow Saborio to rest and allow the newcomer to ease into more minutes? Fortunately for RSL, Plata, Findley and Garcia have shown they're capable of holding down the fort. That could allow Cassar to use a similar approach to the FC Dallas match over the next few weeks.
Questions are suddenly abound. But at this point in the season, that's undoubtedly a good thing.
"It's going to make my life a little bit more difficult with decisions, but whatever decision we come up with, we know it's always going to be best for the team," Cassar said. "It's going to be challenging, but it's a good challenge."
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
Real Salt Lake at Seattle Sounders
P Friday, 8:30 p.m. MDT
TV • NBCSN