On the negative side was the fact that RSL coach Jason Kreis thought it was the worst match his team has played all season. If you want to look at positives, take the fact that it was the first time RSL has been able to rally to win a match after a team scored a game-tying goal. Maybe most important is that Saturday marked the first win for RSL in three matches. Lastly, the victory on Saturday night preserved RSL's unbeaten streak at home.

In all, it wasn't a bad run of events for RSL, especially with Kreis serving a one-match MLS-mandated suspension for criticizing the officials earlier in the week. Kreis, who spoke to his team before the match and at halftime, observed the game from a suite on the fifth floor. He also made decisions, thanks to being permitted to communicate with his coaching staff via radio.

"This was probably one of the worst matches we've played this season," Kreis said. "I thought we played a terrible first half. We were loose with possessions, it was just an ugly match to watch, and maybe a certain amount of credit for that should go to Dallas. We were a little sharper in the second half, but it was a real dogfight out there."

What Kreis, and the rest of RSL, took out of the match was a streak of newfound toughness.

Instead of wilting after Kenny Cooper scored the goal for FC Dallas that knotted the match at 1-1 in the 56th minute, RSL went on the attack.

Real found better continuity offensively, the forwards made better runs offensively, and it paid off in the 73rd minute when Kyle Beckerman took a pass from Andy Williams and scored what proved to be the winning goal.

It took 17 minutes and 3 minutes of added time to make the victory official. It also took RSL surviving several offensive onslaughts by FC Dallas. It even took RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando making two diving stops down the stretch. But when it was over, the RSL players felt they had turned a corner, if only because it's the first game they encountered adversity and came out on top.

"It definitely felt great to get the win," Beckerman said. "This was the first time this season that we were ahead of a team, gave up the tying goal and came back to get the win. That was big for us. We feel like we stepped over a hurdle tonight."

RSL was able to strike first in the 28th minute when Javier Morales took a fortuitous bounce, saw FC Dallas goalkeeper Dario Sala was out of position, and trickled a shot between two defenders for the score.

It was a goal that would hold up for the duration of the first half.

tjones@sltrib.com