Real Salt Lake suffered their fourth road loss of the regular season on Saturday night, falling 1-0 to league-leading Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. A 53rd-minute strike from Paulo Nagamura gave Chivas USA their seventh win of the season as RSL was again unable to come up with any points away from home.
The visitors played tenaciously and were unlucky not to find the back of Zach Thornton's net. The late introductions of Robbie Findley, Fabian Espindola and Andy Williams gave RSL a strong offensive boost, but the visitors struggled to find a way past the league's top defense.
The home side controlled much of the game's first moments, controlling the midfield and sending a few long balls toward the RSL net but were caught napping when Javier Morales broke free on the right wing and drew a foul at the top of the 18-yard-box. The Argentinean sent a high cross toward the Chivas net on the ensuing free kick that Will Johnson headed just wide to the right.
Real continued pressing forward and almost got an open look at Thornton's net when Raphael Cox sent a pass into Yura Movsisyan on the edge of the six-yard box. Only a tenacious tackle from Chivas defender Jonathan Bornstein kept Movsisyan from taking on Thornton alone.
Chivas got their first good look at net only a minute later when Eduardo Lillingston volleyed a Paulo Nagamura pass toward net from the top of the box. Chris Seitz quickly moved to his right and collected the ball at his feet to avert the danger.
Play became more and more aggressive as the players settled into the rhythm of the game. The bad blood from last year's Western Conference Semifinal Series was evident as the tackling became harder and the pace quickened.
Chivas USA began to take command of the tempo and controlled much of the following minutes. Forwards Justin Braun and Eduardo Lillinston each saw shots sail just over the RSL crossbar, and Braun nearly got onto the end of a neatly placed cross from Sacha Kljestan in the 15th minute that almost certainly would have found the back of the net.
RSL 'keeper Chris Seitz was called to action in the 25th minute when Chivas striker Bojan Stepanovic sent a pass into the box that was left unattended. Seitz rushed off his line to collect the ball but collided head-first with Sacha Kljestan. Kljestan was shown a yellow card as Seitz caight his breath after the hard tackle.
Kljestan continued to cause problems for the RSL defense, getting onto the end of a Carey Talley cross just three minutes later. He neatly chested the ball down to his right foot and volleyed a high shot that just barely missed the top right corner of the Seitz's net.
Real Salt Lake finally fired back at the home side in the 37th minute. Cox dribbled past Mariano Trujillo on the left side and chipped a quick ball across the goalmouth. Johnson got onto the end of it, diving to his knees to head the ball toward the lower right side. The ball ricocheted off Chivas' Shavar Thomas at the last moment, skidding just wide of the goal.
Seitz was again called upon only two minutes later, when Trujillo crossed a long ball in from the right flank. Seitz leapt in the air to collect the effort, but bobbled the ball under tight pressure from Lillingston. Braun quickly attacked the loose ball, and only a sliding tackle from RSL's Jamison Olave kept the striker from a good look at the net.
The final moments of the first half saw RSL regain a bit of composure on the ball, with a hard volley by Yura Movsisyan from the top of the 18-yard-box sending the visitors into the locker room with a bit of momentum.
RSL picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, immediately pressuring the Chivas USA defense. Movsisyan tested Thornton with a low shot from the right side in the 46th minute, and Johnson hit a line drive only moments later that sailed just above the top left corner of the net.
Any momentum RSL had in the opening minutes of the second half was squelched in the 54th minute when Kljestan headed a cross from Lillingston to the feet of Nagamura. Nagamura drilled a hard shot from the edge of the penalty area that landed in the back of the Real net to make the score 1-0.
The visitors saw their first good chance of the second half in the 64th minute, when Beckerman sent a good pass along the right flank to Morales. Morales deftly slipped around Trujillo before launching a rocket toward the top right corner of the Chivas USA that forced an acrobatic save from Thornton.
Looking to boost their offensive firepower, RSL took off Cox for Findley in the 66th minute. Findley pushed up into a striker role alongside Movsisyan, a move that bumped Johnson back into the heart of the midfield with Beckerman.
The move seemed to pay off, with the visitors seeing a better majority of possession in Chivas' end for the next 10 minutes. The best opportunity came in the 74th minute when Morales blasted a low shot that missed the net on the left side by inches.
RSL again added to their offensive potency in the 74th minute, brining on both Espindola and Williams for Movsisyan and Clint Mathis. The changes had an almost immediate effect as RSL settled into a long spell of possession in the Chivas end. The visitors peppered the area with all manner of combinations but were unable to get through a resilient Chivas defense.
The home side nearly iced the match in the 84th minute when a counter attack left Sacha Kljestan open on the top of the RSL box. The midfielder volleyed a hard shot toward the top left corner of the net that just missed to keep the score sheet at 1-0.
Chivas USA continued pushing forward, again testing Seitz in the 88th minute when a pass from Atiba Harris left Galindo all alone in front of RSL's net. Seitz charged from his line and dove at Galindo's feet, expertly turning the striker away with a strong swat of his right hand.
RSL swarmed the Chivas USA goal during the closing minutes of the match but were unable to find a way past the league's top defense. Real return home next Saturday to take on the Kansas City Wizards at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Jeffrey King is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
