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Carson, Calif. • The first shot on target came with six minutes left in the match, which when related to Real Salt Lake's usual standard is borderline mind-boggling. Javier Morales' free kick in the 84th minute was the first — and only — shot on target as RSL's potent offense sputtered in the 1-0 loss at Chivas USA Sunday.
"It was a strange, strange game," captain Kyle Beckerman said. "It was like the game was almost too easy in the first half and we were able to just pass and pass. It was like they were down a man. When you got teams like that on the ropes, you've got to put them down and you've got to score. We just weren't able to do that tonight."
Against a team that was giving up nearly two goals per match, RSL needed to not only bury their opportunities — they needed to fire away. Too often Sunday, the two banks of four defenders sat back and dared RSL to break them down. It's not exactly a foreign task. RSL has seen this treatment for years. Being passive does not solve the situation.
"[Chivas USA] did a good job of keeping the game in front of them," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "We didn't get in behind them very much, which is weird. We had a few chances that were in dangerous areas, but we were never able to make [Dan] Kennedy make a save."
The theme of Sunday's attack was stringing passes together outside the penalty area and eventually weaving their way through, but the final pass so often could have been a shot to test Kennedy.
"We needed somebody to step up and they did a good job of frustrating us," Cassar said.
Alvaro Saborio had his opportunities, but as the all-time leading scorer continues to knock the rust off in his return from a fractured foot, he was not able to put a ball on frame. Joao Plata, he of 13 goals in 2014, didn't manage must. Attacker Javier Morales weaved around defenders looking for seams. Some were found and not capitalized upon. Others were cleared by a entrenched Chivas defense.
"I think we have a lot more quality than we showed tonight," defender Nat Borchers said.
Twitter: @chriskamrani