Anytime you score four goals in a match as Real Salt Lake did last Saturday against D.C. United, a letdown is almost inevitable. But going from a 4-0 win to a 1-0 loss that included a nearly non-existent attack in the first half was a tough pill to swallow for the Real side.
"I think we came out tactically and played that game a little bit wrong, to be honest," said RSL coach Jason Kreis. "The coaching staff takes full responsibility for that. We were] sitting back when perhaps we should've pressed them from minute one, which is the tactic we took up in the second half."
The 1-0 loss to Toronto FC on Saturday at BMO Field was, as Kreis put it, "definitely a tale of two halves." After managing just one attempt at goal in the first half and barely getting the ball out of their end, Real looked like a different team after the break. RSL pushed the pace for the next 25 minutes and seemed to have Toronto reeling. But in spite of the pressure, Salt Lake just couldn't find that one key opportunity to score the equalizing goal.
"We thought we got enough to tie it up and get something from the game, but you know, it just wasn't our day," said captain Kyle Beckerman. "All the credit to them, they got the goal and held us up."
Kreis said he focused on two things during his halftime talk with his side.
"Tactically I thought we had to go out and high-press them as we would at home, treating it as though it was our home game for the first 15 minutes," Kreis said. "And I thought the soccer needed to be better. I thought there wasn't enough space between the ball and our guys were giving the ball away a bit needlessly in the first half."
In spite of the defeat, Kreis said his team played well and was impressed with how his defense held up against an aggressive Toronto attack. Kreis pointed out that TFC's one goal, a direct free kick from Laurent Robert, could just as easily have been stopped.
"I'm proud of the effort the players put in," Kreis said. "I'm proud of the response we had being down a goal away from home and in the second half to come up the way we did, I'm proud of that."
Striker Kenny Deuchar, who had two shots on goal in the second half, said that the club didn't any added pressure to score in the aftermath of their four-goal outburst the previous week.
"You only put pressure on yourself to play your best," Deuchar said. "Unfortunately today we didn't do it too well, and it was unfortunate that we didn't manage to put away some of the chances that were created for us. Hopefully we'll come back next week."
And that next match stands as a big challenge to RSL, who will be headed to Washington to face D.C. United on Saturday. The Black-and-Red played an exhausting stretch of four league matches and two CONCACAF Champions' Cup matches in 20 days, but will have nine days of rest when they take the field against RSL.
Beckerman knows that United will be seeking to avenge their embarrassing 4-0 loss, and RSL will be challenged to get a result on the road.
"It'll be a really tough game," Beckerman said. "They're coming off two losses and one of those was to us. It's going to be a tough week, but we believe in our ourselves and give everything we've got."
The status of midfielder Nathan Sturgis is still unknown for next week's match. Sturgis suffered a hamstring strain on Saturday in Toronto and had to be carried off the field in the 27th minute. Kreis didn't have any further information on Sturgis' condition after the match.
Mark Polishuk is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
