SANDY, Utah (Friday, September 9, 2016) – Real Salt Lake visits the Portland Timbers Saturday at Providence Park in Oregon at 8:30 p.m. MT as the club continues its gauntlet against Western Conference rivals in the late-season playoff push. Head Coach Jeff Cassar’s team (12-8-8, 44 points, t-2 in West and 4th overall in MLS w/ a 1.57 points-per-game average) endures a quick turnaround from Wednesday’s thrilling, come-from-behind 3-3 draw against LA Galaxy.
Two-goal braces in the last two games against LA and Colorado brings to nine goals the annual output for both Joao Plata and Yura Movsisyan, whose partnership is rounded out by Juan Manuel Martinez’ total of 7 goals. Movsisyan and Martinez each have 3 assists this year, while Plata and his 11 assists make him one of only three MLS players – joining Sebastian Giovinco (TOR) and Giovanni Dos Santos (LA) with 9+ goals AND 9+ assists. Plata boasts four goals and five assists in the last eight matches, as the RSL trio’s play has placed the Claret-and-Cobalt second in the West in scoring, already surpassing last season’s goal total with six matches still on the schedule.
Back in June surrounding the Timbers’ visit to RSL, the MLS Insider film crew spent 48 hours with RSL FW Juan Manuel Martinez and family, chronicling his move to MLS from Boca Juniors last August, his critical role in helping RSL convert from the 4-4-2 diamond to a more unpredictable and dangerous 4-3-3, as well as his family life off the field. Click http://bit.ly/MLSinsiderBurrito to view the scintillating 10-minute video and appreciate “Burrito Magic” along with hearing how coaches, executives and teammates interact daily with Martinez.
Saturday’s match marks RSL’s third and final game against rival Portland this season, the clubs’ drawing 2-2 on both previous occasions. Back on March 19 in Portland, RSL raced to a 2-0 lead via goals from FW Joao Plata and FW Yura Movsisyan – each sandwiched around a 31st-minute red card to RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman – while GK Nick Rimando ran his shutout streak in Portland against the Timbers to 466 minutes. However, a pair of goals from Portland striker Fanendo Adi – the second on a penalty kick that resulted in another red card to RSL DF Jamison Olave, dropping RSL to nine men for only the fifth occasion in 450 all-time contests – allowed the home side to split the points.
In the club’s last meeting on June 18 in Utah, RSL took an early 1-0 lead over the visiting Timbers as FW Juan Manuel Martinez headed home a Javier Morales corner kick, then conceded twice prior to halftime as Adi and Lucas Melano gave Portland the lead. Midway through the second half, Movsisyan was taken down in the box and converted the resultant penalty kick, which served as the eventual equalizer.
RSL’s last win on an artificial surface came in Nov. 2013 at Providence Park, the Claret-and-Cobalt emerging 1-0 in the Western Conference Final Leg Two at Portland to earn a trip to MLS Cup 2013. While RSL is 3-0-4 at what is now Providence Park since losing in the club’s first-ever visit (three days after dropping the 2011 CONCACAF Champions League Final to Monterrey), the club owns a dismal 8-25-18 on fake grass, being outscored 43-89. Including the 1-2 August 14 loss at Seattle, RSL is now 0-10-4 in its last 14 games across all competitions on turf, posting an 0-4-1 mark in each of the 2014/2015 seasons (including CCL play), prior to an 0-2-2 mark so far in 2016 (RSL conceded 2-0 leads at Orlando and at Portland in March before settling for 2-2 draws, while losing on July 13 at Vancouver, 0-2) …
However, RSL’s greatest glory has come on an artificial surface, winning MLS Cup 2009 in a shootout against LA at what was then known as Qwest Field in Seattle. In 2011, RSL emerged from two home-and-home knockout series with turf results in the second leg: the 2010/11 CONCACAF Champions League Semifinal series with a 1:2 road loss at Saprissa, courtesy of the valued Jamison Olave road goal; as well as that year’s MLS Cup Playoffs West Semifinal against Seattle with an 0:2 loss.
This week’s match will be televised in Utah via KMYU (English, David James & Brian Dunseth) or heard via RSL outlets MOVIN 100.7 FM (English, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton) & 102.3 FM / 1600 AM (Spanish, Fernando Hortal & Nelson Moran). Pre-game coverage airs live locally on 100.7 FM at 7:30 p.m. MT, while KMYU’s three-hour window kicks off at 8:30 p.m. MT live from Portland.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake @ Portland Timbers
- Coverage Begins: 8:00 p.m. MT
- TV: KMYU (2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) – David James & Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: 100.7 FM (7:30 p.m. MT) – Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RealSaltLake Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL @ Portland Matchup Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the MLS Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Portland is available by clicking HERE.
