SALT LAKE CITY - It was deja vu, a broken record and the same old story at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Tuesday when Real Salt Lake ended their match against Chivas USA with a 0-0 tie.
"We seem to be following the same script right now," team captain Jason Kreis said. "We're playing good soccer, we're creating chances and just being really unlucky with the final pass or the final touch."
For the second straight game at home, Real managed to get only one point with a scoreless result. Their last game at Rice-Eccles also ended in a 0-0 tie, that time against the New England Revolution. Real now has four ties on the season, all of them coming at home.
"We've got to be positive and confident and say we dropped two points tonight," Kreis said. "We've got to have the right mentality and say that's not good enough. When we're at home, we've got to get all three points."
Real came close to earning the victory on a number of chances. In the first minute of the game, Atiba Harris played it through the penalty area, drew Chivas goalkeeper Preston Burpo out of position, and got it to Jeff Cunningham in perfect position for a simple touch-in. But Cunningham's wide-open, point-blank shot spun just wide of the left post.
Real's other prime chance came in the 77th minute after Cunningham was shoved down from behind by Chivas' Tim Regan 20 yards away from the goal. Kreis sent the resulting free kick over the wall and only six inches over the crossbar.
"I really hit that one well and I had a good feeling after it went off my foot that one was going into the back of the net," Kreis said. "But so be it, I'll keep taking them, and sooner or later one of them is going to go in."
In an effort to secure three points instead of one, coach John Ellinger used all three of his substitutions. At halftime, he replaced World Cup veteran Eddie Pope with Nelson Akwari. Pope, Ellinger said, was feeling the effects of the sore back he has struggled with all season.
Ellinger also replaced Harris in the 71st minute with Andy Williams and replaced another World Cup player, Douglas Sequeira of Costa Rica, with Jamie Watson in the 84th minute. Both moves were meant to spark Real's offense; Chivas, on the other hand, were happy enough playing with a tie to keep all three subs on the bench.
The visitors worked the offsides trap well enough, particularly in the first half when Real were flagged for offsides eight times. It was a problem Ellinger intended to fix after the game.
"It's basically timing your runs," Ellinger said. "If someone is offsides, we've got to have someone run behind them and scream at them that they are offsides, and tell them to start their runs from a deeper position so they don't get called offsides."
Real now intend to make up for the tie with a victory on the road on Saturday against the Galaxy. But to be sure, Real would rather have a win at home.
"It's still discouraging," Ellinger said. "We're trying to make the playoffs and we're trying to get points at home. We know we played well enough to win the last two home games."
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
