May 6, 2017; Sandy, UT, USA; Real Salt Lake forward Brooks Lennon (27) reacts during the first half against FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Struggling RSL fall 3-0 at home against visiting FC Dallas. Head coach Mike Petke took responsibility for the loss, but pointed at several reasons to blame.

It wasn’t necessarily a surprising result, but it was disappointing nonetheless. RSL fell 3-0 at against league best, FC Dallas. While Real wasn’t expected to win, it was the same old story. Missed chances and defensive miscues were too much to overcome.

Petke presser pic.twitter.com/4Ga0M9qonL — Real Salt Lake (@RealSaltLake) May 7, 2017

After the match, Mike Petke didn’t hold back with his disappointment.

“Honestly, how did you think our energy and execution looked?”

Petke was quick to point out RSL’s lack of energy and movement as a major reason for the team’s struggles. As he mentioned, it became clear from the first whistle. The team’s transitions were slow and their reactions lagged.

The slow movement was coupled with another match of poor finishing. When asked about changing formation as a possible solution, Petke didn’t hold back.

“We don’t have a formation right now. I literally continued the formation that has been played. I was literally continuing the formation that was before me and which I have played before. That is not my preferred formation, you know. Going on the road next week and going to New England across the country. Have a lot of guys that are out of play. On turf and then we have a mid-week game. I doubt we are going to go out and press a team and we are going to play with this 4-3-2-1, or 4-1 whatever the hell it is. We are going to play differently because we are going to have to.”

Moving Forward

RSL will now go on the road to visit New England. Petke confirmed that Brooks Lennon and Sebastian Saucedo would be leaving for the U-20 World Cup, and Danilo Acosta and Justen Glad are likely to miss time as well.

Thankfully, RSL seemed to get out of this one injury free. As the club heads into a winnable matchup against an Eastern Conference foe, hopefully the team takes a step forward in overcoming their finishing woes.