There’s not much new to be said when it comes to Real Salt Lake’s current form. Regardless of the opponent or level of competition, RSL seems to have essentially stagnated.
Although Real scored during the run of play — something that has not come easily to the team over the last few weeks — in both its matches in the past week, the results didn’t improve. RSL lost 2-1 to Inter Milan in a Tuesday night friendly, then drew 1-1 with the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.
The Inter friendly was a schedule anomaly, with both teams making full use of their substitutions and limiting minutes for key players. Although these friendlies can be useful (as in the 2009 match against Chivas de Guadalajara which set the stage for Real’s MLS Cup-winning run), they’re generally more of a publicity-driven event than anything else, especially when the opponent is in preseason.
Owner Dell Loy Hansen admitted as much in an TV interview that night. Hansen said that more friendlies will appear on RSL’s schedule in the future, as he seeks to raise the team’s profile internationally. He also talked about the academy and its role in hosting clubs visiting the U.S., which he hopes will help earn wider exposure for the academy players.
RSL signed eight Monarchs players to short-term contracts so that they could participate in the Inter match, while simultaneously giving the first team some much-needed rest. Real did meet some of its targets on that front: finding some critical minutes for Jordan Allen, Olmes Garcia, and Omar Holness; solid performances from several of the Monarchs players; evaluating Chris Schuler as he continues to recover from injury; and finally earning a long-awaited goal, courtesy of Allen.
Within that context, the loss — which came on a last-minute, highlight reel-worthy goal from Stevan Jovetic — wasn’t much of a cause for concern. RSL was focused on the weekend and earning a win against San Jose, after all.
That didn’t happen, however. Real came out looking flat and unprepared again on Saturday night; the first half was riddled with misdirected passes, unnecessary giveaways, and poor spacing.
So it wasn’t terribly shocking when the Earthquakes took the lead in the ninth minute in the aftermath of a set piece: Deflection. Wondo. Goal. Typical.
Meanwhile, RSL’s attacking players were passing themselves into oblivion, searching in vain for the perfect chance on goal. Going into halftime, it didn’t seem like a comeback would be in the cards, especially after Yura Movsisyan came off with a hip flexor strain just before the break.
The equalizing goal came on the kind of play that RSL just can’t seem to pull off much lately — an unexpected bit of soccer that defenses can’t prepare for. Just a few minutes after Real started to play with some urgency, Javier Morales’ sublime chip and Luke Mulholland’s well-timed run off the ball beat the Quakes’ defense and put RSL back in the match.
That goal didn’t turn out to be a panacea, though, as beautiful as it was. Although many around the Riot believed that getting that all-important goal would be a turning point, a spark that would re-ignite the attack, Real couldn’t definitively impose itself on the match.
There’s no obvious reason for it, though. RSL has plenty of talented players that can control and win games, as the first part of the season proved. Right now, many of them either look deflated, walking around with their heads down, or as though they’re waiting for something, that one moment or play that will put everything right again.
How long will they be waiting? That’s a question that Real needs to answer quickly before its playoff hopes slip away.
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