Real Salt Lake 3 at Columbus Crew SC 4
May 28, 2016; Columbus, Ohio; MAPFRE Stadium
Real Salt Lake (6-4-2, 20 points); Columbus Crew SC (3-4-5, 14 points)
Man of the Match: Joao Plata had a goal and an assist to bring him to five goals and six assists on the season. However, the honor this match goes to Luke Mulholland. Filling in for Javier Morales in the starting lineup, Mulholland also had a goal and an assist while diversifying his role on the field – defending when the match called for it and springing into the attack at other times. His first-half wonder strike earns some points too.
Telling Stat: With 11 points through six home matches, Columbus is among the best teams at home in the Eastern Conference. It’s never easy to cross conferences and earn points – in fact, of the four Western Conference teams that played away against an Eastern Conference opponent on Saturday, Portland was the only one to pick up anything in the standings, scoring a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire.
What You Missed: The match was delayed over 90 minutes due to extreme weather conditions. This is the second time in 15 days, RSL has had a match delayed because of weather. Two weeks ago in Houston, the match was postponed until the following day and RSL fell 1-0 in a lackluster match by both Salt Lake and the Dynamo.
So What: There are no easy games in MLS and despite a poor record this season, Columbus is a well-coached team with talent enough to host the MLS Cup Final just under six months ago. Head Coach Jeff Cassar rotated his lineup a bit, resting Yura Movisyan – who missed training with illness this week – Juan Manuel Martinez and Javier Morales, who both have been taxed on the current road stretch. So a 4-3 loss that saw RSL scratch and claw to the final whistle was not as bad, big picture, as some have made it out to be. While all points matter in the final standings the same, RSL is looking to be strong in the final months of the season and resting players in spots throughout the regular season is sometimes necessary.