HERRIMAN, Utah (Saturday, September 14, 2019) – Real Monarchs SLC (11-9-7, 40 points)picked up a critical three points in a thrilling 5-1 win over Portland Timbers 2 in front of 2,128 fans at Zions Bank Stadium on Saturday.
FW Douglas Martínez tallied four goals behind a first-half brace and another pair in the second while FW Kyle Coffee notched his third professional goal.
Postgame Quotes from SLC v POR
Real Monarchs and Timbers 2 used the first 20 minutes of the contest to get into the rhythm as the two traded possession and opportunities but it was the Monarchs who struck first. After FWSebastian Saucedo latched onto a long ball from MF Jack Blake, he took his shot but it was deflected out by T2 goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh. Martínez was quick to capitalize by cleaning up the deflection for goal. Portland pulled back the score quickly after a shot was deflected out by GK Andrew Putna, but cleaned up in similar fashion by Giovanni Calixtro. Real Monarchs got the last word in the first half when Martínez beautifully headed in the cross from MF Luke Mulholland.
The Monarchs weren’t finished as the second half kicked off. Martínez picked up the hattrick after cleaning up a deflection from McIntosh and then tallied a fourth after a long clearance from DF Erik Holt to further the Monarchs lead. Coffee put the nail in the coffin late in the game when he stripped the ball from a Portland defender to create space and bury the goal at the near post. Throughout the afternoon, the Monarchs defense perfectly linked to limit the T2 attack to just a single goal and only 4 shots on target, providing the Monarchs with a much needed three points in the final stretch of games.
UP NEXT: Real Monarchs SLC heads out on the road for a quick turn around game when it faces Tacoma Defiance midweek in Tacoma, Washington. The contest is set for Tuesday, September 17 with an evening kickoff of 8:00 p.m. MT from Cheney Stadium.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
SLC: Douglas Martínez, 22nd minute: MF Jack Blake started off the play with a long ball over the top to find FW Sebastian Saucedo, who took his run in to take on the T2 Goalkeeper, Kendall McIntosh. McIntosh came up with a big save to deflect the ball out but Martínez was there to clean up and take the lead.
POR: Giovanni Calixtro, 24th minute: In the same fashion of the Monarchs goal, Brayan Hurtado took a quick run near the end line where he took a shot at a tight angle. GK Andrew Putna was able to get a stop to the ball and deflect it to the middle, but Calixtro went to clean up. Putna was fast to react and got his hand to the ball, but the touch just wasn’t enough.
SLC: Douglas Martinez (Luke Mulholland), 38th minute: With time and space, the Monarchs attack found the gaps in the Portland defense to get Mulholland down the right from where he served in a cross to find the head of Douglas Martinez, who made it look easy to convert the brace.
SLC: Douglas Martínez, 66th minute: Martínez cleaned up again after Jack Blake took his shot towards the far post but saw his chance saved with a deflection from Kendall McIntosh. Martínez was near the goalkeeper to capitalize again on the deflection to put away his second hattrick and the second in Real Monarchs club history.
SLC: Douglas Martínez (Erik Holt), 70th minute: Following an aggressive Portland Timbers 2 attack, Holt was quick to make a long clearance out of the Real Monarchs box. Martínez saw his opportunity to run through the gaps in the T2 high line and get in behind to latch on to the ball and easily convert for his fourth goal of the day.
SLC: Kyle Coffee, 83rd minute: Within 10 minutes of coming onto the field, Coffee made his presence known when he stripped the ball away from a T2 defender and created space for himself for an attacking run. At the top of the box, Coffee took his chance and rifled a shot to bury the fifth goal to finish off the dominating victory at Zions Bank Stadium.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS
POR: Kendall McIntosh, 35th minute: A cross to switch the play found Sebastian Saucedo out on the wing who took one touch to volley the shot in. As the ball dipped in to find the goal just under the cross bar, McIntosh came up big to deflect the ball up and over.
SLC: Andrew Putna, 60th minute: Portland Timbers 2 found an opportunity from distance to try and level and the scoring. As Carlos Anguiano blasted his shot but Putna made a long dive to knock the ball away from goal and protect the Monarchs lead.
NOTES:
- FW Douglas Martínez recorded his second hattrick for Real Monarchs with goals in the 22’, 38’ and 66’ before tallying a fourth at the 70’. He is the first Monarchs player to record four goals in a match.
- Seven RSL men featured on the Real Monarchs Starting XI: GK Andrew Putna, DF Erik Holt, MF Justin Portillo, MF Luke Mulholland, FW Tate Schmitt, FW Sebastian Saucedo and FW Douglas Martínez
- Early in the weekend, Real Monarchs SLC moved to 4th in the Western Conference after picking up the crucial three points at home.
Match: Real Monarchs SLC vs Portland Timbers 2
Date: September 14, 2019
Venue: Zions Bank Stadium; Herriman, Utah
Attendance: 2,128
Weather: 75 degrees with bright clear skies
Scoring Summary 1 2 F
Real Monarchs SLC 2 3 5
Portland Timbers 2 1 0 1
Lineups:
Real Monarchs SLC (4-2-3-1): Andrew Putna; Erik Holt, James Moberg, Kalen Ryden, Tate Schmitt; Luke Mulholland, Sebastian Saucedo (Luis Palma 83’), Justin Portillo, Maikel Chang (Kyle Coffee 75’), Jack Blake (Cristian Calix76’); Douglas Martinez
Subs not used: Evan Finney, Noah Powder, Konrad Plewa, Sam Brown
Portland Timbers 2 (4-2-3-1): Kendall McIntosh; Todd Wharton, Max Ornstil, Arturo Diz Pe; Ryan Sierakowski, Nathan Smith, Harold Hanson (Caleb Kiner 72’), Carlos Anguiano; Foster Langsdorf, Giovanni Calixtro (Zach Kobayashi 74’), Brayan Hutado (Cristian Ojeda 46’)
Subs not used: Jacob Leeker, Aldair Sanchez
Stats Summary: SLC/POR
Shots: 21 / 8
Shots on Goal: 13 / 4
Saves: 3 / 8
Corner Kicks: 5 / 5
Fouls: 10 / 11
Offside: 4 / 1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
POR – Giovanni Calixtro (Caution) 41’
POR – Ryan Sierakowski (Caution) 44’
POR – Todd Wharton (Caution) 80’
SLC – Sebastian Saucedo (Caution) 80’
SLC – James Moberg (Caution) 87’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Brad Jensen
Assistant Referees: Francisco Bermudez, Justin Fillmore
4th Official: Scott Jones
