This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It is easy to understand some of the frustrations following Real Salt Lake's 2-1 loss at the L.A. Galaxy. It was a game, in the end, that RSL could have won.First, one would think that David Beckham would have more on his mind than confronting RSL coach Jason Kreis for scolding referees. First, Major League Soccer referees need scolding. Second, the Galaxy didn't exactly blow RSL off the field.In fact, given that L.A.'s two goals were flukes, which frustrated RSL, maybe in reality Beckham was blowing off his frustrations. After all, the Galaxy's payroll is more than four times RSL's and there is pressure on Los Angeles to be in the MLS Cup final, which is scheduled to take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.RSL scored the game's lone goal and took a 1-0 lead from a set piece — a Javier Morales corner kick that Fabian Espindola headed into the L.A. net — in the 45th minute. "We got an own goal from [Nat] Borchers and a goal that if [L.A. forward Chad] Barrett would have hit a hundred times he not going to hit again," RSL goal keeper Nick Rimando said afterward.