I know that we have a lot more character on our team than that."
RSL fell to the Red Bulls after defender Jack Stewart was shown a red card in the eighth minute of play, forcing Real to play with only 10 men for 82 minutes. But Real will have a full slate of players on the field when they take on the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
It is the first of two important games against Western Conference opponents for Real this week. Real are tied with the Galaxy at the bottom of the conference standings; both teams are 8-11-5 with 29 points, and both teams are making a run for the postseason.
The Galaxy have been on a roll in recent weeks. They have won three of their last four games, including a 5-2 victory against D.C. United last Saturday. Landon Donovan scored two goals in that game, and has scored five goals in the last three games.
"L.A. is playing pretty well right now, but so were we until this last game," Real coach John Ellinger said. "The guys look at it as, we were playing with 10 men, and it changes things a lot. So lets play with 11 men for 90-plus minutes in this game."
Ellinger is hardly concerned about Real's mindset, having seen how well his team has dealt with adversity throughout the season.
"I would hope they do the right thing and rise again," Ellinger said. "It makes them even more motivated to play."
Ellinger also is confident in Stewart's replacement on the back line. Nelson Akwari started three consecutive games for Real in July before RSL acquired Stewart, and performed well in each game.
"Nelson is solid," Ellinger said. "Stewart has done great, but now Nelson's got to step up and work hard for us as well."
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
