Real S.L. clobbered in debut

BRADENTON, Fla. — As Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger put it, training camp is all about "taking baby steps."

The first major step came Tuesday in the form of a 5-1 whopping by D.C. United during Salt Lake's inaugural scrimmage at the IMG Soccer Academy.

It was a lopsided score that in reality doesn't mean squat.

D.C. United is the defending MLS Cup champion that, with the bulk of its team back, played as a cohesive unit in its second exhibition game in a week. RSL, meanwhile, was playing its first-ever scrimmage, and in most places the rust and unfamiliarity were obvious.

"We're putting a whole team together," said Ellinger. "They bring in some players and fill a hole or two, and we're filling a whole new unit. I'm not frustrated at all."

It was literally a tale of two halves.

With both teams playing their "A" squads in the first half, it was a fairly balanced game, with D.C.'s Jamie Moreno scoring the only goal in the 20th minute.

It's the type of goal D.C. probably doesn't score two weeks from now. Throughout the opening 45 minutes, Salt Lake's back four — Rusty Pierce, Brian Dunseth, Nelson Akwari and Matt Behncke — clearly resembled a defense that had never played together.

That communication breakdown led to Moreno's scoring chance, which the veteran finished brilliantly.

"Defensively I think we just need to work on our style," said Dunseth, who played in the Swedish second division last year. "It's tough to come and be expected to play cleanly in our first game. We have a lot of things to work on, but we'll get there. It's only our seventh game. I don't think anyone is really worried."

In reality, D.C.'s 1-0 halftime lead could have been three or four more.

During the first half, Salt Lake keeper D.J. Countess tipped a close-range header over the bar, punched a line-drive shot out over the endline and then watched helplessly as D.C. squandered two excellent free-kick opportunities late in the half.

"Defensively we've got some work to go. The good back fours have been together for a while, and they're synchronized, and there's good communication," said Ellinger. "It takes time, and what are we — a week in?"

As sporadic as Salt Lake's back four played in the first half, the quad still allowed only one goal. RSL's patchwork second-half defense wasn't so lucky, allowing four goals.