Real Salt Lake’s window for punching a ticket to the playoffs is closing.
RSL find themselves in a must-win situation when they host the Portland Timbers in Sandy, Utah, on Wednesday night.
A 4-3 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday dropped Salt Lake (13-13-6, 45 points) to eighth place in the Western Conference — one spot below the playoff cut line. With two games remaining, RSL cannot afford to drop any more games and still qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs.
Salt Lake squandered a chance to clinch a playoff spot against the Earthquakes because of poor defensive play. RSL club let San Jose rattle off four unanswered goals after taking an early 1-0 lead and could not generate enough offense in the final minutes to fully overcome the deficit.
“We started well and got the early lead,” said RSL midfielder Albert Rusnak, who scored a pair of goals in the loss. “We kept creating chances and were playing attacking football. Collectively we had individual errors that just continued to add up, and that’s how they scored their goals.”
The Timbers (15-13-4, 49 points) are in fourth place in the Western Conference but have little room for error. Only four points separate Portland from Salt Lake. A victory would clinch a playoff spot. A loss would create some nervousness heading into the regular-season finale against Austin FC.
Portland snapped a three-match losing streak with a 2-0 victory over San Jose a week ago. The Timbers got goals from Diego Chara and Dairon Asprilla in a match where the team collectively generated 13 shots on goal — tying a club record — and recorded their 10th home victory of the season.
“We just have to make sure that we stay focused in our path,” Portland coach Giovanni Savarese said. “It’s all in our control to manage what is going to come.”
The Timbers have lost each of their last two regular-season matches at Rio Tinto Stadium, where Salt Lake is 9-3-4 this season.
–Field Level Media
