Nobody particularly enjoys losing, and our boys are no exception. But on the measure of last night’s performance — one which saw them without much in the way swagger, style, skill — you wouldn’t have known it. It was a capitulation of the harshest types, harsh conditions certainly not helping but certainly not causing.
Credit to Benitez. When the former Dallas Burn (and former Hoops) won the ball deep in our half, there was always a chance a goal would result — and result it did. The ball was struck well, and enough top-spin and side-spin was added that it simply sailed into the net past an alert leaping Kyle Reynish. There was nothing he could do about the goal, and he’s one of the few that can really come out of last night without much blame.
The rest of the squad did not do so well to avoid blame: The central defensive pairing, typically so solid, looked sluggish and kept playing attackers onside. The midfield, typically so effluent and connected, could hardly string together three passes, balls splayed everywhere on the pitch without much regard for precision. The front line, too, comes off without too much blame, but they hardly did enough to take things into their own hands — what a good striker must always do.
It was a painful, unfortunate result. FC Dallas controlled the game from start to finish, and while most excuses will turn to the conditions of play, it’s important to remember that conditions do not score goals, they don’t play men onside, and they don’t concede simple free kicks in dangerous conditions. And there will be complaints about the referee, but again, the referee does not win or lose the game. On the balance, a two-goal loss may have been slightly generous to Real Salt Lake.
It’s not the end of the world — the league awaits, and I stand by every last thing I said after a result over FC Dallas at the Rio Tinto. We are a club with potential, style, fluidity, steel: There is no reason to think this result changes it. But to return to grace requires a manager that is skillful, innovative, and motivating. Real Salt Lake has one of those — one of the few Americans so capable — in Jason Kreis. And that, you see, is encouraging.
‘Till tomorrow.
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