Real Salt Lake's last game ended badly. Real fell 1-0 to Colorado last Saturday in a heated rivalry game that saw seven yellow cards, seven minutes of stoppage time and plenty of in-your-face shoving while awaiting restarts.
Now, RSL is jumping right back into the fray as they take on D.C. United on Saturday at RFK Memorial Stadium. The game kicks off a three-game stretch of tough contests for Real. After taking on the top team in the Eastern Conference, Real will play the top team in the Western Conference (FC Dallas) in back-to-back games.
To be sure, United will be looking for revenge. Real defeated United 2-1 on July 29 in dramatic fashion, scoring on a pair of penalty kicks during stoppage time. Real's come-from-behind victory at Rice-Eccles Stadium ended United's impressive 14-game streak without a loss.
Real players are accustomed to playing emotionally-charged games like last Saturday's loss to Colorado and this Saturday's match against United. After losing to the Rapids, midfielder Chris Klein acknowledged Salt Lake and Colorado don't like each other very much.
"Not at all, but that's sports and that's rivalries," Klein said.
The loss hurt Real's quest for the playoffs. Real are now tied with the Los Angeles Galaxy at the bottom of the conference standings; both teams have 32 points, and are two points behind Chivas, three points behind Colorado and four points behind Houston. Klein, however, is confident Real can still make the playoffs.
"This was an opportunity for us [Saturday]," Klein said after the Colorado loss. "We didn't take advantage of the opportunity, and we just made it a little tougher on ourselves. But it's just one game, and I think this is a team that can still make a push for the playoffs."
Against Colorado, Real made a last-second adjustment to its lineup when captain Jason Kreis felt some pain in his left knee during warmups. Kreis sustained a left knee injury in Real's previous game, a 1-0 victory against the Galaxy on August 30. It was a precautionary move on the part of coach John Ellinger, but the team expects to have Kreis back in the lineup against United.
United, however, are not so fortunate. D.C. will be playing without three of its most consistent players, Bobby Boswell, Alecko Eskandarian and Christian Gomez. All three received yellow cards in United's last league game against Chivas last Sunday, putting them over the limit.
United also will be without John Wilson, the defensive substitute that committed both fouls on July 29 that led to Real's penalty-kick comeback, while Jaime Moreno is also considered questionable with an injury.
D.C. also may be a little tired coming into the game. The match is United's third in six days. The Black-and-Red earned a 2-1 victory against Chivas last Sunday, then fell to the Chicago Fire 3-0 on Wednesday in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup.
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
