Real Salt Lake needs Robbie Findley, Javier Morales to be on the field

Real Salt Lake needs a healthy Robbie Findley and Javier Morales. That fact was quite obvious Saturday night in Columbus.

Respective groin injuries prevented either player from cracking the starting lineup, but once the pair stepped on the field as substitutes in the 62nd minute, RSL's attack was immediately more dangerous.

Seven of Real Salt Lake's 11 shots occurred after Findley and Morales entered the match, but more importantly the ball was primarily in RSL's offensive half in those final 28 minutes.

"It's obvious to the naked eye when those guys come in. It's a difference maker. Defenses are scared of Robbie's pace. Javy controls the ball for us," said RSL keeper Nick Rimando. "We have a lot of lethal players on our team but when those guys come in, they've proven to be good players in this league, and you could tell how comfortable everyone felt on the field."

Had the attacking duo been on the field longer, it's hard to imagine RSL not salvaging at least a tie in their visit to the Midwest.

RSL coach Jason Kreis said it would've been unwise to try and insert them into the game sooner though. Throughout the week leading up to Saturday's match, Morales and Findley trained for about 30 minutes before they could start to feel pain. That became their threshold against the Crew.

Both players will likely be questionable again for the starting lineup this Saturday against visiting Toronto FC. But it's obvious that RSL needs them on the field as much as possible.

"Robbie's runs, his pace, and it's not just his pace, he makes smart runs as well. He's not offsides much," said Real captain Kyle Beckerman.

Indeed he's not. In 257 minutes this year Findley hasn't been whistled offside once. Fabian Espindola, who was replaced by Findley on Saturday, has had the flag raised on him four times this year, including twice against Columbus.

Findley's combination of speed and smarts makes him one of the most dangerous strikers in MLS.

"In particular with Robbie's pace to get in behind, he really stretched them a bit and created a couple half chances just by his working hard to pester the defenders," said Kreis.

Morales' presence is, perhaps, more important.

"Javier is a difference maker for us, and has been for a long time. He has special abilities, and we need him on the field to succeed," said Kreis.

Already this year Morales has scored three goals and notched one assist. During his brief stint on the field in Saturday's 1-0 loss, he narrowly missed another goal with an 84th minute shot that sailed just wide. As always, he was instrumental in setting up his teammates as well.

"He just has that final pass that's deadly. When those guys are healthy, we're a stronger team," said Beckerman.

e-mail: jedward@desnews.com