Real Salt Lake’s season has sputtered to a disappointing end, with just one league match and one CONCACAF Champions League match left before the 2015 campaign is put out of its misery.
The midweek loss to the Portland Timbers was the death knell, with a loss to FC Dallas following in quick succession despite RSL playing both matches at home after a lengthy international break. Even the weather seemed to get in on the doom-and-gloom theme as rain and wind whipped around the Riot on Saturday night.
Tactically, the Timbers had Real’s number from the opening minutes on Wednesday, pressing high and forcing the speed of play, something which RSL has struggled with for what sometimes seems like eons. Although there were some decent individual efforts to get forward, Real simply couldn’t adjust quickly enough to break Portland down on the attack.
With no evident backup plan or ability to adjust on the fly, RSL just looked as though it had no urgency in its play. Ultimately, the match came down to one critical moment, when the Timbers were able to exploit the Real back line and force a game-changing error, with Jamison Olave taking the fall.
Although RSL did manage some sustained attacking in the last 10 minutes of the match or so, it was really too little too late — finding the final ball was even more difficult down a man, and Real didn’t give Portland goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey much to do in the end.
The reaction from the fans to RSL’s effort against Portland was understandably negative. Many fans complained that the players looked like they didn’t care — that they were just going through the motions — and that some huge changes were needed in the offseason.
Those opinions didn’t change much after Saturday’s loss to Dallas, in which Real looked better early on but ultimately doomed themselves again. With both teams’ playoff fates sealed, they were playing for pride — but Real didn’t exactly cover itself in glory, controlling possession in the first half yet failing to take its chances. FCD took one of its few, on the other hand, and it was a soggy, sad second half at the Riot in front of a lot of empty seats.
Tuesday night’s CCL affair is being billed as a “do-or-die” match, but given the last two performances, there have to be a lot of questions about RSL’s ability to rise to the occasion. The team looked anemic in its last “do-or-die” match against Portland, then couldn’t turn it around against Dallas.
Municipal will almost certainly be highly motivated when it arrives in Utah, as the Guatemalan side will be looking to avenge its loss to Real back in August. It won’t get much easier next weekend — RSL will close out the season at Seattle, where the Sounders are still looking to solidify their playoff position and need three points.
If the last two matches are any indication of what this version of Real Salt Lake is really made of, it could be a very long, depressing week for RSL fans.
