Real Salt Lake 1 - 0 Chivas USA
Final
  for this game

RSL tries to get back to basics against Chivas

Aug 26, 2011 - 6:34 PM Carson, CA (Sports Network) - With four losses in its last five games, Real Salt Lake has slipped to fifth place in the Western Conference table and desperately needs a good result on Saturday at Chivas USA.

But the club is not yet ready to panic, and midfielder Will Johnson believes they just need to get back to basics in order to turn things around.

"We just all need to take a deep breath, and not panic," Johnson told MLSsoccer.com. "Obviously we've had some bad results over this past stretch, but we didn't just turn into a bad team overnight."

"We're still a good team. We just have to get back to hard work and our humble beginnings, and the basics and all that kind of stuff. I don't think anything has changed. We've still got a confident group of guys."

One factor that has worked against RSL is the absence of defender Jamison Olave, who suffered an MCL injury during the MLS All-Star Game.

In Olave's absence, the club has conceded eight goals in five games as opposed to yielding just 12 in 18 matches with Olave in the lineup.

The 30-year-old is questionable for Saturday's match, which sees Chivas return home after a five-game road trip which saw the Goats claim five points.

A 1-0 defeat at Portland on Wednesday brought an end to the trip and it dropped Chivas behind the Timbers and into seventh place in the West.

However, Chivas will play five of its final eight games at home, with one of those away matches coming against the Los Angeles Galaxy, which shares The Home Depot Center with Chivas.

Striker Juan Pablo Angel should return to the lineup after scoring in his debut against Houston last weekend, and fellow striker Justin Braun feels like Angel's presence will only help the other forwards on the team.

"[Angel] is definitely a quality player," the 24-year-old Braun told MLSsoccer.com. "Anytime there's someone with that type of experience who comes in to the team, you want to watch the way they play and try to pick up the little things, to try and improve your own game."






Related News