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Already up 1-0 heading into today's second leg of its playoff series with the Columbus Crew, Real Salt Lake might not be planning on playing the most attractive, offensive style soccer.
But don't blame RSL for being defensive. The team is just being smart and doing what it hopes will bring the result needed in order to advance to next week's Eastern Conference final.
"We go there now and we look to protect what we have already," said RSL coach Jason Kreis. "I think it affords us the chance to be a little more defensive."
Robbie Findley scored in the 88th minute, giving RSL the 1-0 win over the league-leading Crew on Saturday during the first match of the two-game series. Since the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs is decided on an aggregate-goal basis, RSL would advance to the next round with either a win or a tie.
Should Columbus win tonight by two or more goals, the Crew would advance. But if Columbus wins by one goal, the teams would then play a 30-minute mini game to decide the winner. If the score is still even after that, the winner will be decided by a shoot out from the penalty spot.
Since the Crew needs goals more than RSL, Real knows what to expect from Columbus.
"We know that Columbus could possibly open up once the game starts," said RSL forward Yura Movsisyan, who assisted Findley's goal. "(Saturday's win) is better than a nil-nil result but at the end of the day we know that one goal is not going to make a big difference so we have to be smart at what we do and protect our lead."
That means one thing in particular will be at the top of the to-do list.
"We definitely have got to defend," said RSL midfielder Clint Mathis. "We're going to go in and defend like crazy and hopefully we don't give up a goal and it won't put pressure on us to score."
RSL hasn't had much luck on the road this season, winning just two and tying two of its 15 games away from home. But as far as RSL is concerned, the lack of success on the road doesn't matter.
"The way this playoff system is set up it's all about now, and we have a 1-0 lead going into this game," Mathis said. "If we keep a clean sheet we go through no matter if we score or not, so that's what we've got to focus on."
Last year RSL was in a similar situation, having defeated Chivas USA 1-0 on a late goal by Movsisyan in the first leg of the playoff series. RSL then went on the road and earned a 2-2 tie against Chivas USA.
"We've talked with the guys about how we did last year and what kind of job we did and what was called of each of the players and us collectively," Kreis said. "I think we can draw a lot from that game."
The winner between RSL and Columbus moves on to face either the New England Revolution or Chicago Fire. The Revolution won the first game 2-1 at home, and the teams meet again on Saturday.
If Columbus advances, the Crew would host the Eastern Conference final. If RSL wins, it would play at either New England or Chicago.
