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SANDY — Many Real Salt Lake fans can remember there was a time when the Claret and Cobalt never left Rio Tinto without a win. After this week, however, those memories are becoming distant.
San Jose took the first place standing in the Western Conference with a 2-1 win over RSL Saturday night.
The RSL loss was the second consecutive this week and was the first ever second consecutive loss inside the walls of the RSL Fortress.
“Right now we’re in a bad way, there’s no doubt,” RSL head coach Jason Kreis told the media following the loss. “We’re cycling downwards, two games in a row to lose. This doesn’t happen to us.
“I’m discouraged and mad at the world right now,” continued Kreis. “But I’m not ready to throw in the towel and say that we’ve lost the mystique of Rio Tinto. We just need to correct some small things.”
Prior to the match, San Jose sat just two points behind RSL with 30 points, but now RSL sits one point behind San Jose and is in the second slot for the first time in seven MLS matches.
“I don’t know of a time I’ve felt as mad as I do right now, I’ll be honest with you. Soccer can be a really cruel game and tonight was every indication of that,” said Kreis.
Kreis and the RSL roster know that dropping out of the top slot was not in their plan, but also know what they need to do to return to that slot.
“We have to remind the players again that they need to be ultra focused because unfortunately, as I said earlier, it’s a cruel game,” said Kreis.
RSL midfielder Will Johnson agreed with his boss.
“We’re a little bit weak right now, we’re not finishing out plays in games, we’re not staying sharp and focused throughout the whole play,” said Johnson.
Johnson also knows what’s happening with the team needs to be addressed fast.
“The goals we are giving up are really poor mistakes. If someone comes in here and beats us, fair enough, but for us to just give teams, give rivals close to us on the table points is unacceptable and we have to sort it out quickly,” said Johnson.
The 18,050 fans Saturday night did, however, get to see a bit of good news on the RSL pitch as RSL playmaker Javier Morales was healthy and back in the starting 11 and saw the whole 90 minutes of play.
RSL will now head back out on the road for a matchup with the Columbus Crew Saturday, July 30, and will return to Rio Tinto for another two-game home stint July 4 and 7.
Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
