CARSON, Calif. — Real took another step closer to being mathematically eliminated from the playoff race Sunday in exactly the type of match that's defined the 2007 season. RSL played decent defense, came up with great goalkeeping, and despite only surrendering one goal, lost again.
That's because Real was shut out for the 10th time this season, falling to Chivas USA 1-0 in front of 11,217 fans at the Home Depot Center.
It's not a surprising result. Chivas USA is on pace to finish with one of the best records in MLS, and hadn't lost at home in seven matches prior to Sunday. RSL meanwhile, hasn't won on the road all year and owns the worst record in the league.
Even coach Jason Kreis, who's been the ultimate optimist through this difficult campaign, seemed resigned to the team's postseason fate after the match.
"We are at a place where we're looking one game at a time," he said. "To be completely honest with you, I don't know how many points we need to try and get into the playoffs, because it's not important. What's important is the next
game."
For the record, RSL probably needs to win 10 of its last 11 games to have a chance, a seemingly impossible feat. As for the club's next game, it's this Wednesday at home against Kansas City. After that, it's four straight road games. Ouch.
Real's 29 goals against puts it in the middle of the pack in MLS, with New York, Kansas City, Toronto and Los Angeles all surrendering more. It's the goal production that's killed the club this year. Salt Lake has scored a league-worst 14 goals this year, and with only 11 games remaining, the team is on pace to break the MLS record of fewest goals in a season, which is 29.
With Sunday's loss, which is the only stat that matters, RSL is also flirting with the worst record in MLS history.
RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman said the problems started well before the ball got to the forwards.
"Just pass the ball, just play a simple pass, find the next guy, pass it, he finds the next guy, pass it, it's as simple as that," said Beckerman. "Sometimes we acted like we don't know how to pass when we do."
The opening half was dominated by Chivas, outside of a wasted quality scoring chance by RSL's Robbie Findley in the sixth minute.
After that, Chivas enjoyed the better of the play, and if it wasn't for keeper Nick Rimando's stellar effort, it could've become ugly fast. In the 12th minute, Rimando came up with a point-blank reactionary save against Ante Razov, and six minutes later he denied Sacha Kljestan with an even more impressive kick save.
"He was fantastic again, he made a host of saves there to keep us alive," said Kreis.
Power may not have worked against Rimando early on, but the simplest of touches did. On a 31st minute corner kick — originally cleared away by defender Jean-Martial Kipre — Razov whipped the rebound back toward the near post and Jesse Marsch stepped in front of Rimando and flicked it into the net.
It put the wraps on the "worst half" Beckerman said Real has played since he joined the team.
Kreis mixed up his midfield formation a bit in the second half, which helped his team create a few more chances, but not nearly enough according to Beckerman, who had a 78th-minute redirected shot sail inches past the post.
"That should've been one of many, and it's one of few and that isn't good enough," said Beckerman. "That's really the disappointing part. We can't just rely on one or two chances, we should be getting plenty of chances."
For RSL, it was outshot 14-8, and only one of those eight shots was on goal. That was 85th minute laser that Chivas keeper Brad Guzan turned away to preserve the shutout and his team's 11th win.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com