Real Salt Lake: '08 is different, team says

It's just one game, one in which Real Salt Lake still earned a point, but forging ahead after disappointing results has never been a strength for RSL. In fact, in years past results like the one Saturday often sent the club into the MLS abyss, often never to be heard from again.

Following their draw with Chicago, RSL players and coaches alike insisted this year is different.

As unyielding as coach Jason Kreis was about the future of his team during the postgame press conference, no one was more adamant about the direction of RSL than newcomer Dema Kovalenko.

"This is not going to happen like this, there's no way. This is not acceptable," said Kovalenko. "We're not going to win six games this year, not going to happen. We're going to win a lot more games."

Was his diatribe any different than what fans have heard for three years? Does this team really have more intestinal fortitude than RSL teams of the past?

The next four weeks will go a long way toward answering these questions because RSL's schedule doesn't get any easier.

Three of its next four games are on the road, including games against last year's Eastern Conference (D.C. United) and Western Conference (Chivas USA) regular season champions. The other road game would seem like a winnable game against Toronto FC, but it's Toronto's home opener in front of the rowdiest fans in MLS.

Oh yeah, as for that lone home game, it's merely against D.C. United, last year's Supporters Shield winner for the best record in MLS.

The way the schedule's lined up, it's conceivable that Real is still winless four weeks from now. At the same time, with a similar effort to the one it put forward against Chicago, RSL could very easily bounce back with some away wins.

"I think there's a lot we can work on in training this week in terms of being smart with the ball, making sure the ball stays in the field up 1-0 and not giving stupid passes away," said Real defender Nat Borchers.

It all starts at the Home Depot Center against Chivas USA Saturday, a place Real Salt Lake has rarely had success.

In 12 previous visits to the joint home of the L.A. Galaxy and Chivas USA, Real's combined record is 2-9-1. Against the Goats, its opponent this weekend, that record is 0-5-1 with a minus-13 goal differential.

For those expecting much of the same this weekend, Kreis has a different opinion about his team's upcoming match.

"I expect we're going to see a very good reaction. I expect we're going to go out there and play on a big grass field and we're going to keep the ball well and we're going to take the game to them," said Kreis. "We're not going to go in with a negative mentality of sitting back and making it a difficult game for Chivas. We're going there to play to win."

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com