Before Saturday's match against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center, the Western Conference standings showed Real Salt Lake seven points and two wins ahead of bottom-dwelling Chivas USA.
It was Chivas, however, who turned the tables, dropping their fellow expansion brethren 5-1 in a match that really wasn't even that close.
"Chivas had a feeding frenzy on us," said dejected RSL coach John Ellinger after the match. "We probably played 25 minutes of decent soccer out of the 90. That was it."
The win was only Chivas USA's second on the year. Their first came against RSL on May 7.
RSL headed into the contest on a long, eight-match winless streak. However, it looked as though things were turning around for them as they had earned two hard-fought ties in their last three matches.
It all fell apart against Chivas, though.
Forced to play short-handed because of international call-ups, injuries and suspensions, RSL looked every bit the prey as Chivas continually battered the visitors' defense from the opening whistle. Chivas finished the match with a staggering 24 shots to RSL's eight, including a remarkable 11 on goal.
The inexperience of RSL's defense was painfully evident throughout the match, making the absences of defenders Eddie Pope (U.S. national team duty), Brian Dunseth (red card suspension) and Rusty Pierce (hamstring injury) all too noticeable.
"You have to clear the ball," Ellinger said about his defense's inability to keep Chivas USA's attack at bay. Of the "five goals scored on us, four of them were clearance problems.
"We worked on clearing the balls yesterday (in practice). If you can't clear the ball in the game, in this league, then you shouldn't be in the league. Plain and simple."
Because of those defensive absences, RSL had to go with a backline of Brian Kamler at left back, Matt Behncke and Cameron Knowles in central defense and Nelson Akwari at right back.
Behncke and Knowles have had only eight starts between them this season. Ellinger, however, wouldn't point to a depleted squad as the reason for the poor performance.
"We were short-handed with call-ups and injuries but that's no excuse. I'm not going to make excuses," he said.
The match got off to a nightmarish start for RSL as Kamler knocked the ball into his own goal in just the fourth minute.
RSL shot itself in the foot again for the second Chivas goal as Knowles, appearing in only his fourth match of the season, was beaten to a ball deep in his own penalty area and dragged Thiago Martins down to give Chivas a penalty kick, which they converted for a 2-0 lead.
The only bright spot of the match for RSL came in the 23rd minute as Clint Mathis scored on a 21-yard free kick to cut the lead to 2-1.
However, Real's defense could not contain the Chivas three-pronged attack very long into the second half and they scored two consecutive goals in a three-minute span in the 53rd and 55th minutes.
Said Ellinger: "It's frustrating, your down 2-0, you get a goal and come back and actually at that point you're doing well. We played well until the end of the half and the second half we came out and nothing good happened."
Before the game slipped away completely, Ellinger changed to a three-man backline in hopes of creating more opportunities for Mathis and Jason Kreis. The only opportunities that came from that move were for Chivas. In the second half, RSL could only muster one shot on goal to eight for Chivas.
"You have to take chances because you're down a goal," said Ellinger. "We changed the three in the back but (Chivas) didn't change anything because they've still got three forwards up there. That's why I say they had a feeding frenzy (on us).
"They were just driving, driving, driving forward. You can't fault them. We just didn't step up."
RSL will look to rebound quickly as they play a U.S. Open Cup match Wednesday before heading to Kansas City to take on the Wizards next weekend.
On what words of encouragement he had for his club as they head into these next two matches, Ellinger said: "there's really not much to tell them."
Danny Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
