RSL has extra motivation in matchup with Houston

There will be no shortage of bulletin board fodder for Real Salt Lake tonight, courtesy of Brian Ching.

At the time Ching's comments seemed innocent enough, no doubt meant to fire up his own team following back-to-back losses to RSL and Colorado back in early August. In the process of blasting his own team, however, the Houston Dynamo striker sure managed to tick off Real Salt Lake.

"Our upcoming schedule is tough; the teams we've got to play are going to be 10 times tougher than the last two teams we've played," said Ching back on Aug. 12 following a 1-0 loss to Colorado. "We better change our style of play around quickly if we want to have a chance at winning in SuperLiga."

Ten times tougher? Ouch.

RSL hopes to channel that anger into a three-game winning streak when it visits Houston tonight at 6:30 (MDT), a match televised on HDNet.

"I don't believe this group of players needs any extra motivation, but I also believe (Ching's comment) was extremely unprofessional and disrespectful," said Real coach Jason Kreis.

In reality, the comment is probably being blown out of proportion. A week before losing to Colorado, Houston dropped a 1-0 decision at Real Salt Lake and Ching had nothing but praise for RSL captain Eddie Pope.

"He's one of the best players that ever came out of the U.S. He's still got it," Ching said. "He anchored their defense, got a shutout and did well against me and Joe (Ngwenya). It was fun to play him, and I respect him tremendously."

Don't expect that quote to be tacked to RSL's bulletin board tonight. Instead, expect the one RSL midfielder Carey Talley called "derogatory" to be posted in big, bold letters.

Ching's comment isn't the only motivating factor for RSL tonight, even though ironically enough Ching is doubtful because of a calf strain.

Talley admitted he's anxious to face the defending MLS champs at their place because he believes Real was robbed of a victory last season. In that game the ref overturned what appeared to be a legitimate goal by Atiba Harris because of offsides, and former coach John Ellinger ripped the officials afterward saying head official Ben Jones cheated his team out of a win.

Naturally, Ellinger was suspended and fined, but Talley in particular hasn't forgotten about the incident.

The other motivating factor for Real Salt Lake is the postseason, even though it's still a long shot. The team knows to have a realistic shot at the playoffs it needs to win seven or eight of its last nine games.

Every game therefore becomes a must-win situation.