PORTLAND (Wednesday July 19, 2017) – Real Salt Lake (7-12-2, 23 points) ran rampant at Providence Park and steamrolled the Portland Timbers in a 4-1 win on Wednesday night.
In the club’s return to MLS action after the 14-day Gold Cup break, RSL got two goals from FW Joao Plata and another from MF Kyle Beckerman to earn the club’s second straight road victory after a 6-2 win over the LA Galaxy on July 4.
The first half saw RSL maintain the majority of the possession in the early stages before Beckerman laced a thunderbolt into the far top corner of the Portland net for his third goal of the year in just the tenth minute.
GK Nick Rimando wasn’t called on much in the first 45 minutes as RSL outshot the Timbers 11-5 in the first half while he and the RSL backline stood firm.
A furious start to the second half saw RSL grab a second goal through Plata as he tucked away a penalty kick in the 50th minute for the 2-0 lead. The game turned on its head moments later when Portland defender Victor Arboleda, forward Fanendo Adi and Beckerman all saw red cards in the span of three minutes. The game would finish with 10 total cards.
RSL’s relentless attack didn’t stop being down a man as MF Albert Rusnák slammed a shot off the crossbar and off the back of Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson for the team’s third goal in the 68th minute. In the 80th minute, Plata notched his second goal of the night and fifth of the season from a wonderful assist from DF Danilo Acosta, slotting home a breakaway effort for RSL’s fourth goal.
Portland earned a consolation goal through Jack Barmby with the last kick of the game as his long-range strike skipped off the wet turf and past Rimando as time expired and the match ending 4-1 in favor of RSL.
UP NEXT: A rivalry will renew on Saturday as RSL will welcome Sporting Kansas City to Rio Tinto Stadium (8:00 pm MST kickoff) for the first of two matches against the mid-western side in Sandy for 2017. The two teams met once thus far in 2017 at Children’s Mercy Park, a 3-0 decision to the home side in late April.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
RSL – Kyle Beckerman (Tony Beltran) 10th minute: Forward-thinking play from RSL saw defender Tony Beltran pushed up the field in a wide position. Beltran found Beckerman who took two touches from 25 yards out and rifled a dipping shot into the top corner of the far post.
RSL – Joao Plata (Penalty Kick) 50th minute: RSL youngster Jefferson Savarino did well to control the ball and to draw a penalty kick early in the second half just inside the box. Plata stepped up and sent Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson the wrong way as he struck the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.
RSL – Jake Gleeson (Own Goal), 68th minute: RSL midfielder Jefferson Savarino played a low ball across the box looking for Luis Silva but found Albert Rusnák instead at the far post who slammed a shot off the crossbar and then Gleeson’s back for the own goal.
RSL – Joao Plata (Danilo Acosta) 80th minute: 19-year-old RSL defender Danilo Acosta did well to curl a pass through the middle of the field to put Plata in on goal against Jake Gleeson. Before Gleeson could get set Plata tucked his shot into the far corner for his second of the game.
POR – Jack Barmby, 90th +3 minute: RSL defender Justen Glad gave the ball away cheaply in midfield to Barmby who fired a long range shot that bounced before skipping past RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando for Portland’s consolation goal.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS:
POR – Jake Gleeson, 17th minute: A curling effort from RSL forward Joao Plata towards the near post of the Portland goal forced Gleeson into a diving save to his right to paw away the shot.
POR – Fanendo Adi, 26th minute: A darting run down the right side of the Portland defense gave space to the RSL attacker for a shot but a wonderful tracking by Adi to block the shot cleared the danger for Portland.
RSL – Nick Rimando, 61st minute: A shot through traffic from Portland midfielder Sebastián Blanco forced Rimando into a quick save, throwing a big left hand into the air to deflect the strike.
POR – Jake Gleeson, 64th minute: RSL forward Joao Plata tried his luck from distance with a curling shot but Gleeson was up to the task as he parried away the effort out for a corner.
POR – Jake Gleeson, 71st minute: Wonderful counter attacking play from RSL saw midfielder Albert Rusnák in 1v1 with Gleeson. Rusnák’s shot on goal was saved well by an outstretched foot of Gleeson to deny the game’s fourth goal.
POR – Jake Gleeson, 77th minute: RSL forward Joao Plata made a cutting run through the middle of the field to receive the ball from midfield. Plata took a touch and fired a shot toward Gleeson’s near post who made the save.
NOTES:
- With the win, RSL has now won back-to-back road games for the first time since May of 2014 when they won at Chicago and Houston in consecutive matches.
- RSL won their first game on artificial turf in nearly four years with their last win coming in the 2013 Western Conference Final at Portland.
- RSL defender Tony Beltran appeared in his 233rd match in his ten year RSL career with his appearance against Portland.
- RSL has now outscored opponents 10-3 in their last two matches.
Match: Real Salt Lake at Portland Timbers
Date: July 19, 2017
Venue: Providence Park; Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 21,114
Weather: Sunny and 80 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 3 4
Portland Timbers 0 1 1
RSL – Kyle Beckerman (Tony Beltran) 10’
RSL – Joao Plata (Penalty Kick) 50’
RSL – Jake Gleeson (Own Goal), 68’
RSL – Joao Plata (Danilo Acosta) 80’
POR – Jack Barnby, 90’+3’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake: (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, David Horst, Justen Glad, Demar Phillips (Danilo Acosta, 45’+4); Kyle Beckerman, Sunny (Aaron Maund, 83’); Joao Plata, Albert Rusnák, Jefferson Savarino; Luis Silva (Chris Wingert, 75’)
Subs not used: Lalo Fernandez, Chris Schuler, Sebastián Saucedo, Brooks Lennon
Portland Timbers: (4-2-3-1): Jake Gleeson; Chance Myers (Victor Arboleda, 45’+1), Larrys Mabiala, Roy Miller, Zarek Valentin; Ben Zemanski, Lawrence Olum; Dairon Asprilla (Jack Barnby, 72’), Diego Valeri, Sebastián Blanco (Jeremy Ebobisse, 72’); Fanendo Adi
Subs not used: Jeff Attinella, Rennico Clarke
Stats Summary: POR/RSL
Shots: 15 / 19
Shots on Goal: 5 / 10
Saves: 6 / 4
Corner Kicks: 6 / 6
Fouls: 13 / 11
Offside: 2 / 1
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
POR – Lawrence Olum (caution) 28’
POR – Zarek Valentin (caution) 41’
RSL – Albert Rusnák (caution) 42’
POR – Diego Valeri (caution) 45’+5
RSL – Danilo Acosta (caution) 46’
POR – Victor Arboleda (ejection) 53’
POR – Fanendo Adi (ejection) 56’
RSL – Kyle Beckerman (ejection) 56’
RSL – David Horst (caution) 57’
POR – Jack Barnby (caution) 81’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Assistant Referees: Eduardo Mariscal, Mike Kampmeinert
4th Official: Alex Chilowicz
