Still some goals to meet, but Real is taking care of business now

Things Real Salt Lake needs to do before that OTHER kind of football interferes.

(a) Built momentum by going on the longest win streak in club history. Check.

(b) Whip local sports fans into a soccer frenzy by hosting one of the world's most storied sports teams — and then playing respectably. Check.

(c) Secure a stadium deal that ostensibly will keep the team here for at least 30 years. Check.

(d) Earn a playoff spot.

That last one is going to take a little longer.

"We're getting closer," said RSL coach John Ellinger. "But Jason (Kreis, forward) said it better than me when he told the guys before the game, "'Don't think we're there yet.'"

RSL took yet another step toward respectability Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium with a 3-1 win over Houston. It marked Real's first win of the season over the Dynamo after two losses. It also extended the club record for consecutive wins to four.

The timing couldn't have been better.

"All I know," continued Ellinger, "is I don't want this to stop."

Having spent months working out the gritty details of acquiring a soccer-specific stadium, RSL now has an agenda as clear as the Golden Rule: win. Convincingly. Consistently. Exclusively. For players and coaches, that has always been the goal. But until this week, there were simply other things imposing on that plan. For instance, it's hard to concentrate on making the playoffs when you don't know for sure where your team will be playing next season. Day after day, the lead story wasn't about what was happening on the field but off.

Meanwhile, it's also hard to concentrate with all those schoolgirls screaming David Beckham's name.

That's how it went last week when Real Madrid was in town for an exhibition match against RSL. Though Salt Lake lost 2-0, it didn't play badly. Sure, the game with Madrid was interesting, even fun. But it didn't mean a thing as far as the standings went.

Eventually, the stadium deal was worked out and RSL took care of business by winning league games. It has three consecutive road wins after going an entire year in 2005 without doing so.

Curiously, RSL has played its best soccer through what was likely its most turbulent period. Aside from stadium issues, there have been midweek games and other distractions since the end of June. Off the field, players have been quietly upbeat about the club's future, saying all the right things. On the field, they've been flat-out wicked. They've been doing something they rarely accomplished a year ago — scoring goals. Going into Saturday's game, they had a league leading 13 goals in the final 15 minutes.