Highlights from Tuesday's US Open Cup match vs. RSL

The video below has no sound, but you can only imagine the 7,000 plus fans cheering on every opportunity Real Salt Lake had Tuesday night.  Chances were limited for the Wilmington Hammerheads, which most people knew would happen in advance, but RSL dominated play for nearly the entire game. While listening to the broadcasters commentate the game via radio, it became obvious to me that the game could've gotten way out of hand, easily ending 4 or 5 to nil.

Richard Jata and Tony Beltran battle for the ball in Tuesday's Match

I don't know whether or not Wilmington expected to have more chances or if they thought they could manage the wave of attacks mounted by RSL, but you can see from the highlights that they gave them too much too often.  The Hammerheads are good going forward in the midfield, but they lack the cohesion and discipline to get back and play defense for a full 90 minutes. Defending counter-attacks and constant pressure on the opposing squads midfield is essential when playing at a higher level.  I guess you can put most of the blame on Wilmington's lack of fitness. Since watching and covering both the USL PRO and MLS, it's easy to see the differences that make up the distance between these divisions. The one thing that stands out to me the most is fitness, in that MLS teams are constantly training to get more fit, while USL PRO teams train just to stay fit.

Hopefully things will change in the coming months and the Hammerheads strive to be that team who runs circles around their opponents. Otherwise, a chance at a USL PRO Championship seems highly unlikely, at least to me.  There are two things, besides skill and cohesion, that turn good teams into championship contending teams, one is determination and the other is fitness.