Sandy, Utah — October is it, the final home stretch for teams in MLS. For Real Salt Lake, it’s a month where matches are crucial and the team finds itself in a few different do-or-die moments. On Wednesday night, Real Salt Lake hosted the Portland Timbers and earned three crucial points in the Western Conference.
Pending the result of a few other matches, RSL currently sits in eighth place.
Goals from Douglas Martínez and Damir Kreilach were the goal-scorers for Real Salt Lake. Both goals came in the first half. The opening goal came off a deflection from Timbers goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic. Then, Kreilach’s goal came off a volley inside the box on a corner kick. The kick was originally taken by Pablo Ruiz.
Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake had a scare in the second half. Bill Tuiloma, off an assist from Diego Valeri, scored on a free kick, sending a powerful header past Andrew Putna.
Both sides had a pretty even possession count, but more chances came from the Utah-based club. The club finished the contest with four shots on target, with other attempts coming from the two goal scorers. No other player from Real Salt Lake recorded a shot on goal.
Kreilach had the most shots of the night in general, taking eight to threaten the Timbers.
What’s next for the Timbers and Real Salt Lake?
It’s a quick turnaround now for both teams. RSL will remain at home this weekend, h0sting FC Dallas. Ryan Hollingshead helped the Texas club defeat Sporting Kansas City, 1-0, on Wednesday night. Heading into that contest, Dallas had a few days of rest, with Minnesota United postponing their game due to COVID-19 positive tests from staff members.
FC Dallas will head to Rio Tinto on Saturday and the match will begin at 9:30 p.m. EST.
Meanwhile, the Timbers will head back home to host Los Angeles FC on Saturday night. LAFC is finding resurgence in their game after two convincing wins over Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders FC. On Wednesday night, they took on the Vancouver Whitecaps and trailed at halftime.
That match will begin at 10 p.m. on Sunday.
