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SANDY — With a seemingly interminable road stretch of 12-straight matches to start the 2019 season, the Portland Timbers have had to make themselves comfortable in strange environs.
The road didn’t seem to bother them Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Sebastian Blanco and Diego Valeri scored a goal in either half, and the Timbers stunned Real Salt Lake and the announced crowd of 18,066 fans with a 2-1 victory.
Sam Johnson scored a momentary equalizer for Real Salt Lake (3-6-1, 10 points), but it wasn't enough as the Timbers (3-5-1, 10 points) won their third-straight road match.
"We weren’t clean enough on the ball tonight," said RSL coach Mike Petke, whose team lost consecutive matches for the first time since snapping a four-game losing skid April 13. "We didn’t play forward soccer. We didn’t break lines. It comes down to me in training all week: perhaps I didn’t demand it enough. Perhaps some of my training sessions weren’t geared towards it.
"It’s early in the season. Teams go through spells. Last year we were virtually unbeatable at home, and this year we’ve had a bit of a slow start — dropping two at home and a couple of tough road games. It’s a long season ahead, but tonight, they were more clinical than us and they were very organized."
Blanco scored in the 35th minute, finding his own saved shot inside the box and punching it back into the net off the glove of RSL goalkeeper Andrew Putna for a lead the Timbers held through the first half.
Johnson tied it up midway through the second half, finishing a deft touch from Corey Baird for the Liberian international’s third goal of his first season with Salt Lake. Johnson hit a well-struck shot off the arm of Portland goalkeeper Steve Clark that breathed new life into a home side that trailed 1-0 until the 62nd minute.
But the draw barely lasted five minutes. That’s when Blanco put a shot off the RSL defense — but it fell right to the feet of Valeri, who slotted home his own goal to put the Timbers back in front, 2-1 in the 68th minute.
"They really put the heart into the match," Portland coach Giovanni Savarese said after the match. "Even though sometimes we could’ve been a little bit better with the ball, I thought the guys worked very hard and made it very difficult for RSL today. It’s an important win for us in a difficult place, and I’m very content for the guys."
Real Salt Lake jumped out to the fast start, out-shooting the visiting Timbers 4-0 early. But the hosts couldn’t finish any chances — including one that turned the momentum about 20 minutes in.
After a video referee, RSL was awarded a penalty kick for a handball in the box on a shot by Jefferson Savarino. Albert Rusnak stepped to the spot, but his attempted conversion was parried to the right by Clark.
"Of course it hurts," Petke said of the missed penalty. "We had a goal-scoring opportunity, and we didn't score. It didn’t feel good."
A corner kick followed, but nothing was going for RSL.
Barely 10 minutes later, Blanco's goal gave the Timbers a 1-0 lead it would take into the locker room.
"A little bit of momentum lost there — and then they scored," Petke said.
Moments earlier, Blanco watched helplessly as backup goalkeeper Andrew Putna, who was making his third-straight start in reserve of injured starter Nick Rimando, parried his shot straight down into the turf.
The 31-year-old Argentine didn’t just watch the deflection, though. Instead, he pounced on the loose ball, and ripped his second goal of the season so hard it caromed off Putna’s gloves and inside the far post for the early advantage.
RSL attempted to rally, pouring in 16 shots to Portland’s seven. But the hosts put just seven shots on target, and even Johnson’s goal was barely a consolation after Valeri put the Timbers ahead for good.
"First of all, let me say, I’m not really happy scoring goals (without the win). Scoring goals doesn’t mean anything to me if we don’t win games," Johnson said. "I feel sorry for the fans. They leave their busy schedules, things to do or places to go, and they come here and we lose and get frustrated."
Next up
Real Salt Lake makes the short trip to Denver to face its Rocky Mountain rival Colorado Rapids next Saturday, May 11. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT on KMYU and KSL.com.
