SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, October 14, 2020) – Real Salt Lake (5-7-6, 21 points) toppled the Portland Timbers 2-1 on Wednesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium, snapping the club’s winless run and ending Portland’s five-match win streak.
Doulgas Martinez notched his first goal in MLS while Damir Kreilach added to his team-leading goal tally to help RSL to the win.
Postgame quotes from RSL v POR.
Real Salt Lake outshot Portland 9-1 in the first half, grabbing the lead in the 12th minute. Martinez collected the loose ball near the top of the area and dispatched the shot into the empty net for the 1-0 advantage. RSL found its second goal through Kreilach in the 26th minute when his volley from a Pablo Ruiz corner kick found the net for his eighth goal of the season.
In the second half, RSL pressed to extend its lead and nearly had a third goal in the 50th minute but Corey Baird was judged to be offside. RSL continued to keep possession throughout the half but it was Portland who cut the lead in half in the 77th minute when Bill Tuiloma’s header cut RSL’s lead in half at 2-1. Following the goal, RSL would see out the 2-1 victory.
UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake will now face FC Dallas on Saturday, October 24 at Rio Tinto Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MT in Sandy.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
RSL: Douglas Martinez 12th minute: A long through-ball from Aaron Herrera in the defensive half sprung Damir Kreilach into a 50/50 ball with Aljaz Ivacic. The goalkeeper met the ball first and punch it clear but only as far as Martinez who collected and curled home his first in MLS.
RSL: Damir Kreilach (Pablo Ruiz) 26th minute: Driving in a corner kick to the back post, Ruiz weighted the ball perfectly to Kreilach, whose side-footed volley flew into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season.
POR: Bill Tuiloma (Diego Valeri) 77th minute: Winning a freekick in the attacking half, Valeri swung in a cross that found the head of Tuiloma whose thunderous header found the back of the net.
NOTES:
- Forward Giuseppe Rossi and midfielder Everton Luiz were not medically cleared to play.
- Midfielder Albert Rusnak was away on international duty with Slovakia, playing 86 minutes in a shootout victory in a 2020 UEFA Euro Qualifying Playoff against Ireland on Thursday. He played 90 minutes against Israel on Wednesday and will have a nine-day quarantine upon his return.
- Kyle Beckerman is now three matches away from his 500th career MLS appearance. He would be the first field player to reach that milestone in MLS history. He is also one match away from his 350th career regular season appearance for RSL, appearing in 349 matches since his arrival in 2007.
- Douglas Martinez scored his first goal in MLS to open the scoring in the 12th minute. Previously, he scored one goal for RSL in the MLS Is Back Tournament Round of 16, but statistics from the knockout rounds of the tournament are not included in MLS regular season statistics.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers FC
Date: October 14, 2020
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 3,283
Weather: Partly cloudy and 60 degrees
Scoring Summary:1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 2 0 2
Timbers FC 0 1 1
RSL: Douglas Martinez 12’
RSL: Damir Kreilach (Pablo Ruiz) 26’
POR: Bill Tuiloma (Diego Valeri) 77’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-2-3-1): Andrew Putna; Aaron Herrera, Marcelo Silva (Justen Glad 69’), Nedum Onuoha, Donny Toia; Nick Besler (Kyle Beckerman 84’), Pablo Ruiz (Justin Portillo 84’); Maikel Chang (Tate Schmitt 84’), Damir Kreilach, Corey Baird; Douglas Martinez (Justin Meram 64’)
Subs not used: David Ochoa, Erik Holt, Jeizon Ramirez, Milan Iloski
Timbers FC (4-2-3-1): Aljaz Ivacic; Pablo Bonilla (Marvin Loria 84’), Larrys Mabiala, Bill Tuiloma, Marco Farfan (Dario Zuparic 84’); Diego Chara, Cristhian Paredes; Jeremy Ebobisse, Diego Valeri, Tomas Conechny (Yimmi Chara HT); Felipe Mora
Subs not used: Jeff Attinella, Jorge Villafana, Andres Flores, Chris Duvall, Renzo Zambrano, Zachery McGraw
Stats Summary: RSL / POR
Shots: 13 / 10
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 7 / 7
Fouls: 14 / 4
Offside: 1 / 1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL: Marcelo Silva (caution) 16’
RSL: Aaron Herrera (caution) 82’
RSL: Justin Portillo (caution) 90’+1
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Robert Sibiga
Assistant Referees: Adam Garner, Jeffrey Greeson
4th Official: Allen Chapman
VAR: Alejandro Mariscal
AVAR: Fabio Tovar
