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Sandy • Leave it to Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis to accurately judge the verve and excitement of Saturday's scoreless tie with Houston.

The 0-0 final at Rio Tinto Stadium, where 16,301 fidgety fans waited 90 minutes for something to rocket them off their collective seats, was, in a phrase, "Ho-hum."

It was an apt description of a game that had 20 total shots and 30 total fouls.

"Some good, some bad," said Kreis, who appeared at a loss for something positive say at the post-game podium. "We needed one decisive play. It didn't happen tonight."

This was also RSL's first game without midfielder Javier Morales, horribly injured a week earlier in a 1-0 victory against Chivas. Predictably, Real missed its playmaker.

Time after time, an offensive build up would dissolve into nothing. The few times Salt Lake did penetrate Houston's offensive area, the final touch would slide by a tad long or short.

RSL (5-1-1) took 13 shots, with only one, an attempt by Alvaro Saborio late in the first half, on target. It was a continuation of an offensive attack that has produced only nine goals in seven Major League Soccer games.

"I don't know man, I really don't know," RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "They had some good stuff in midfield. We had some good moments. It seemed like whenever we got it up top, we would falter a bit."

Beckerman waffled about Morales' absence, saying at first that RSL played without him last year and did well.

A moment later, though, "Maybe we've just got to get used to it again, because he is that final pass a lot of the time. So, I guess it is a learning curve."

Meanwhile, Houston (3-3-4), outplayed in the first half, had the better of things in the second.

The Dynamo, coming off back-to-back losses, put three shots on goal. Geoff Cameron was dangerous in the midfield, creating several chances for Will Bruin.

"I didn't think we particularly dealt with a lot of things they did very well tonight," said defender Nat Borchers, who saw a couple of scoring opportunities slide too far in front of his foot. "I like a game where [goalkeeper Nick Rimando] doesn't have too much to do. He had a little bit too much to do in the second half.

"It was frustrating."

martyr@sltrib.comTwitter: @tribmarty —

Storylines

R IN SHORT ยป Real Salt Lake creates few chances in a scoreless draw.

KEY STAT • RSL extends its team-record home unbeaten streak to 20 regular-season games.

KEY MOMENT • RSL defender Nat Borchers can't reach a pass that slides across the Houston goal late in extra time in the second half.