Second-half strike helps Montreal rally to tie Real Salt Lake, 1-1

SANDY — Real Salt Lake's road to victory Saturday night against the Montreal Impact started with Joao Plata slipping a penalty kick past goalkeeper Evan Bush for the 1-0 advantage.

But Bush got the last laugh.

Plata gave Real Salt Lake a 1-0 halftime lead, but Montreal’s Jukka Raitala scored his first goal of the season and Bush made six saves to help the Impact earn a 1-1 draw Saturday night in front of 18,901 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Plata scored his team-high seventh goal of the season on a penalty kick for Real Salt Lake (10-9-5, 35 points) in the 26th minute, stretching RSL's unbeaten run at Rio Tinto Stadium to 12 matches.

But the final result was disappointing, overall, RSL coach Mike Petke admitted after the match.

"Yeah, it’s a little frustrating," Petke said. "Teams, to their credit, come in doing a good job of getting behind the ball and looking to counter attack.

"Tonight we had numerous opportunities to put them away, and we just couldn’t find that one. So, a point’s a point. It might feel like two dropped points, but a point is a point. We’ll look forward now to two very tough games in a row."

Plata earned his own penalty in the 24th minute, slaloming through traffic before Montreal’s Ken Krolicki fouled him in the box.

After a brief hesitation on the call, the 5-foot-2 Ecuadorian stepped up to the spot and buried the ball inside the lower left corner for the 1-0 advantage.

Damir Kreilach, who had a brace in RSL’s 2-1 win over Chicago a week ago, nearly doubled the lead just under five minutes later, but the Montreal goalkeeper’s reflex save kept the ball out of his own goal.

Bush stood on his head to keep the Impact (9-13-3, 25 points) in the game — and Raitala did the rest to help the Eastern Conference playoff contender earn a valuable point on their road trip to the West.

"He made some unbelievable saves. I had one in the first half where I should’ve scored, and I missed," Beckerman said of Bush. "It's a credit to him. He played really well. We asked a lot of him, and he had the answers for it.

"We'll try to get better next game."

The draw was not without its positives, as RSL right back Brooks Lennon held Montreal star Ignacio Piatti to just two shots — one in each half — and held the former Italian star out of contention for a goal most of the night.

"Brooks is getting better and better every game, defensively. We’ve seen a big improvement on a weekly basis," Petke said.

"I would like to see Brooks get more involved in the attack, which is strange because he’s an actual winger. But finding that balance comes with the rest of the back line shifting over for cover. But he’s been chipping away at his right back position week in and week out. It’s not the finished product, but I’m happy with where he’s at."

After several missed opportunities from RSL, Raitala leveled the match for Montreal with a worm-burner from distance that pulled the Impact even, 1-1 in the 55th minute.

Much like in the 2-1 win against the Fire, Salt Lake’s defense allowed a little bit of space on a set piece — and the Impact made them pay. After defending a corner kick, Raitala found space at the top of the box for a low shot that swerved inside the right post for the equalizer with 35 minutes to play.

It was the Impact’s first shot on target, and one of just four on the night.

"We're definitely disappointed," Beckerman said. "It was a big opportunity tonight. But we’re going to look at the positives with the negatives, and we have another opportunity Wednesday against a Western Conference opponent. Of course we’re disappointed not to take all three, but we did enough to win the game. It just wasn’t enough today, but we’ll take a point and move on."

Next up

Five of RSL’s next seven matches are on the road, including a three-straight stretch starting next week. Real Salt Lake travels to Los Angeles FC for a Wednesday night kickoff at 8 p.m. MT. The game is a rematch of Salt Lake’s home opener, which LAFC won 5-1.

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