Real Salt Lake: Kreis second-guesses strategy in Dallas

LEHI — With a franchise record 10-game unbeaten streak, Real Salt Lake should've rolled into Dallas last weekend beaming with confidence.

Instead, coach Jason Kreis tweaked the tactics and played not to lose — which the team did anyway, dropping its all-time record in Big D to 0-8-0.

With the temperature still in triple digits at kickoff last Saturday, the tactical decision to play a defensive 4-5-1 formation to conserve energy seemed like a good idea at the time. After a 2-0 loss, Kreis is second-guessing that decision.

Kreis has talked all year about how Real Salt Lake is so focused on its own style it doesn't worry about the opposition.

Strangely, he abandoned that way of thinking against FC Dallas.

"If I had it to do over again I'd stick with the 4-4-2 and we'd be real arrogant about things and we'd just say, 'We're going to play the way we do, and if we lose a game it's because somebody beat us at our game,' " said Kreis.

Because RSL was content to sit back and survive the Texas heat, no one will ever know if the arrogant approach would've worked.

"We were just looking to play solid defense and make it tough on them. We knew it was going to be really hot, and we didn't want to overextend ourselves and get caught forward," said Wingert.

From a defensive standpoint the tactics worked great. RSL kept the shutout for 69 minutes, and even then the first goal wasn't surrendered until after it had reverted to its base 4-4-2 formation following a pair of second-half substitutes.

The bigger issue might have been the message the defensive posture sent.

RSL's midfield has been its strength all year, but the tactical change seemed to indicate that Kreis questioned whether the group could get the job done in Dallas.

Kreis said that the tactical change wasn't just a black and white issue.

"I have really mixed feelings about it to be honest. There's a lot of things that go into that decision that people don't oftentimes think about. It isn't always just about one game and trying to get a result in one game. There's a whole lot of considerations," said Kreis.

One of the biggest concerns was Real Salt Lake's recent games in humidity. In recent trips to D.C. United and Chicago, RSL played like a tired team from a desert climate and was lucky to earn a draw in D.C. and a win in Chicago.

"I hadn't really liked what I was seeing and I thought it was only a matter of time until we faltered because of the amount of effort and work our players have to put in," said Kreis.

Anticipating a similar lethargic effort against Dallas, Kreis tried to be proactive with the 4-5-1 formation. It might've paid off over those final 20 minutes if he hadn't reverted back to the 4-4-2. At the end of the day, the juggling tactics and another loss in Dallas merely add to the second guessing.

He doesn't want his players to second-guess themselves, though, and on the bus ride Sunday morning to the Dallas airport he confessed to his players that he might've made the wrong tactical choices.

He's anticipating a positive reaction Saturday at home against Chivas USA.

"Now we're moving forward. We worked very hard today which shows me their ready to respond this weekend," said Kreis following Tuesday's training session.

e-mail: jedward@desnews.com