Real Salt Lake needed a win. A tie against Houston Dynamo on Saturday night would not do. But in front of more than 21,000 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Real Salt Lake had a lackluster start to the game and was forced to come from behind in the second half to get a 1-1 tie against Dynamo.
A victory would have put Real Salt Lake in playoff position, as the Colorado Rapids and New York Red Bulls also played to a 1-1 tie in Denver. But at the end of the game, Real was in the same position it was in before the game: fifth place in the Western Conference and two points shy of a postseason berth.
Now, Real Salt Lake must earn a win against Chivas USA next Saturday, and Colorado must lose to Houston in order for RSL to make the playoffs.
Houston started without Dwayne De Rosario on the field, but still Dynamo were able to push their attack in the opening minutes. Paul Dalglish won a handful of open runs on the RSL goal, while Real struggled to get off a shot. It was the latest in a string of poor starts for Real, but at least this time Salt Lake kept the game scoreless through the 10th minute.
Dalglish came particularly close in the 14th minute when he outraced the Real defense to take a short-range shot. Real goalkeeper Scott Garlick misplayed the ball, and barely was able to make the save after popping the ball into the air.
But in the 20th minute, Dalglish made one stick with a shot inside the near post from the right after an assist from Ricardo Clark. The Scot spun around RSL defender Jack Stewart, then shot the ball underneath Garlick for a 1-0 Houston lead.
Real nearly got the goal back four minutes later when Andy Williams sent a corner kick to Jeff Cunningham, who put a one-touch header on frame. Houston captain Wade Barrett saved it off his head, and Dynamo held the lead.
As the first half wore on, Houston grew stronger on offense. Dalglish continued to pick Real's back four apart, and Brian Ching and Brian Mullan also were able to cause RSL some problems in its own penalty area.
By the 35th minute, Real looked lost and confused; by halftime, RSL seemed lucky to have given up only one goal in the first half. Houston outshot Real 9-3 before halftime, and had put six shots on frame compared to one for Real.
But Real had some fire in the beginning of the first half. They earned a number of free kicks and corner kicks in the first five minutes, and came no closer than when Carey Talley took a point-blank shot that hit Cunningham in the back. Real's aggression to start the half worked well, but also earned both Talley and Atiba Harris a yellow card.
Real coach John Ellinger made the first substitution of the game, replacing defender Kevin Novak with midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy in an effort to punch up his offense.
The move paid off as Ballouchy scored the second goal of his rookie year with an assist from Cunningham. Ballouchy hit it in from the top of the penalty area into the left side of the goal, despite going without food during the day while observing Ramadan.
Real had a pair of quality chances before the 70th minute. A corner kick from Ballouchy was knocked out of the area directly to Williams, who shot it just past the right post from 28 yards out.
Then, on a free kick, Jason Kreis shot from just outside the Houston penalty area to the far left post. Kreis just missed the post and Cunningham just missed the ball on the goal line.
To deal with Real's pressure, Houston coach Dominic Kinnear put De Rosario into the game in exchange for Stuart Holden. The move helped even things up for the remaining 15 minutes, and Dynamo left with a point -- which was much more like two points lost for Real Salt Lake.
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
