Real Salt Lake had a frustrating night from a finishing perspective on Saturday in the 2-1 loss against San Jose. They missed a number of chances in front of goal including two walk in chances on keeper Jon Busch that they couldn’t convert. However, the troubling aspects of the game occurred on the other end of the field. After all, poor finishing or not, you don’t typically expect to win if you give up three goals to your opponent. And worse yet, Saturday’s porous defense highlighted a potentially troublesome trend for the Claret-and-Cobalt.
That trend was magnified this week with 5 goals allowed in two losses. In fact, the formerly defensively stout squad has allowed an average of 2 goals per match in its last 5 home matches, something unheard of at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Overall RSL has allowed 1.12 goals per match this season, not horrible, but not anything of Championship caliber either. And that’s something that the team should know a little bit about. It was in mid-2009 that RSL made a defensive transformation that helped propel them to an MLS Cup title that year, and on to a miraculous run through the 2010 that thrust them squarely into the realm of MLS elite. From Aug 1, 2009 through the end of the 2010 season, the squad allowed a .76 goal per game average. That’s an impressive stat.
Keepin' It Real 