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PORTLAND — Saturday's matchup between the Portland Timbers (10-8-6) and Real Salt Lake (12-4-7) was billed as a high-octane clash between the two highest-scoring offenses in the Western Conference, but only one team could find the juice.
The Timbers scored in the third minute of each half and then in the 90th minute to grab the match from the jump to pull within 2 points of a top-four spot in the West. Luckily for RSL, both Los Angeles teams also lost on Saturday, so the No. 1 spot in the conference remains a three-way tie between the squads.
"Nights like tonight, it's really evident to me (that) when we play like a team, we're a tough team to beat," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "However, when we play like individuals, we're gonna get sliced through."
An RSL offense with eight goals over its last two matches struggled to find any rhythm early in Portland, unable to even get a shot on goal until the 41st minute. The road team finished with just three of its 11 total shots on target despite dominating possession for most of the match.
First shot on goal of the night from #RSL comes on this distance strike from Chicho in the 41st minute pic.twitter.com/yBtI6gYetn
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) July 14, 2024
Fouls interrupted the flow of the match early with five yellow cards in the opening 25 minutes and a second head injury in the last four matches for star striker Chicho Arango made things even more difficult for an RSL side failing to find chances on goal.
Arango remained in the game and even hit the post with a header late in the game, but the Claret and Cobalt were held scoreless for just the fifth team all season in what was also their fourth loss on the year. The loss snapped a 10-game road unbeaten streak for RSL dating back to the season opener in Miami.
"Every performance, every result you have an opportunity to learn from," Mastroeni said. "The biggest thing is we were very cheap with the ball with our front four, didn't allow our pivots to get up, didn't allow our backline to scoot up. So then when we lost the ball, we weren't able to re-press and maintain a good amount of pressure on Portland's backline."
RSL stays on the road for two quick turnarounds next week on Wednesday at LAFC and Saturday, July 20 at Rocky Mountain rival Colorado Rapids. All-Star center-back Justen Glad has missed the last six matches for RSL but Mastroeni said Glad should return within the next week.
