Despite keeping the score close all game long, Real Salt Lake suffered yet another league loss against Chivas USA -- a not unexpected event when the opposing goalkeeper only has to make one save.
"It's difficult for everybody involved," said RSL head coach Jason Kreis after seeing his team fall 1-0 to Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center on Sunday, acknowledging that as the losses pile up, team morale is affected.
That could lead to a lack of confidence where the team needs it most -- in scoring goals.
"That final pass, that final touch," Kreis said. "We scratch our heads looking for that final touch."
Formerly one of Major League Soccer's most potent finishers, Kreis could identify what his players needed to do.
"I scored a lot of goals just by sheer will and throwing my body in places where most players wouldn't. I think that we're lacking that right now, somebody who will put fear on the line and just go for it," he said. "We need players who will step forward and just say, 'I'm going to make a play.' We have the guys that are capable of doing it."
One player who did make that sort of statement with his performance was RSL's goalkeeper, Nick Rimando, who stopped six shots to give his team a chance until the final whistle.
"He was fantastic again," Kreis said. "He made a host of saves there to keep us alive."
From Rimando's perspective in goal, his teammates just need that extra bit of execution to put the ball into the net.
"We need to get the first goal," Rimando said. "We let one in and then we're chasing the game, which is hard for us to do, because I don't think we've won when we've given a goal up."
Real Salt Lake did not put a shot on goal until the 84th minute, with the majority of their efforts going high. Rimando was hoping his teammates would take that extra bit of time to line up shots.
"We're trying to find the goal too much and we're not being patient," said Rimando.
Early in the first half, rookie forward Robbie Findley missed a good chance to put his team up because he couldn't quite connect and redirect a pass into the goal.
Though he tried not to, he was beating himself up about that missed opportunity for a while.
"I thought about that until the half, maybe," said Findley. "If I put that in, it's one-zero and we're up."
Kreis would like to be patient with Findley, but that's not always easy when a team is hurting for wins.
"Robbie is a young player. We see a lot of the typical things that young players do -- they'll have a good game and then one that is not so good," Kreis said. "He can be a difference maker at the end, but we also need him to hold the ball for us and not be losing as many as he did tonight."
A future bright spot for Real could be their three new Argentinian players. Fabian Espindola went the distance in the match as a striker, while Matias Mantilla put in about 20 minutes.
"We're happy with how they're assimilating into the team," Kreis said. "We think they're all three very good players."
Kreis wasn't displeased with his new signings.
"There were some bright moments (for Espindola). It will be a transition period for him and the other two. I think Mantilla did very well with his time," Kreis said.
Despite the difficulties of the season, RSL was relieved of one ignominious record this weekend as Toronto FC took over the league's longest run of consecutive minutes without a goal.
"It's not ours, then," Kreis said. "We've got that going for us, which is nice."
Still, he was more focused on what his team needed to do to turn close results into wins -- of which Real have just two of on the year, now in 19 games played.
"We are at a place where we're looking one game at a time," said Kreis. "We're just worried about the next game."
Andrea Canales is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
