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SANDY – With an endless series of 12 straight games on the road to start the 2019 season, the Portland Timbers had to get comfortable in strange environments.
The road did not seem to bother them on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Sebastian Blanco and Diego Valeri scored one goal in both halves and the Timbers surprised Real Salt Lake and the announced crowd of 18,066 with a 2-1 victory.
Sam Johnson tied for Real Salt Lake (3-6-1, 10 points), but that was not enough as the Timbers (3-5-1, 10 points) won their third straight game on the road.
"We were not clean enough on the ball tonight," said RSL coach Mike Petke, whose team has lost in consecutive matches for the first time since April 13th. . "We have not played football before, it's my job to train all week: maybe I did not need it enough, maybe some of my workout were not oriented in this direction.
"We are at the beginning of the season, the teams have had a difficult time, last year we were practically unbeatable at home, and this year we had a slow start to the season. In the evening, they were more clinical than us and they were very organized. "
Blanco scored in the 35th minute, regaining his own shot saved in the box and pushing the opposing goal in the opposite goal to RSL goalkeeper Andrew Putna for a lead the Timbers maintained in the first period.
Johnson tied up half way Corey Baird for the third goal of the Liberian international of his first season with Salt Lake. Johnson managed a powerful shot from Portland goalkeeper Steve Clark, who breathed new life into a local team that escaped 1-0 in the 62nd minute.
But the draw barely lasted five minutes. That's when Blanco took the defense of RSL – but he fell to Valeri, who notch the house its own purpose put the Timbers in front, 2-1 in the 68th minute.
"They really put the heart in the game," said Portland coach Giovanni Savarese after the game. "Even though sometimes we could have been a little better with the ball, I thought the guys were working really hard and making things very difficult for RSL today." It's a big win for us in one place difficult, and I'm very happy for the guys. "
Real Salt Lake took the fast start, beating the Timbers 4-0 in advance. But the hosts did not have a chance to finish, including an opportunity that reversed the trend in 20 minutes.
After a video referee, RSL was awarded a penalty for a handball in the penalty area on a Jefferson Savarino shot. Albert Rusnak approached, but his conversion attempt was countered on the right by Clark.
"Of course it hurts," Petke said of the missed penalty. "We had an opportunity to score goals and we did not score, that did not do us any good."
A corner follows, but nothing goes for RSL.
Barely 10 minutes later, Blanco's goal gave the Timbers a 1-0 lead in the locker room.
"A little momentum was lost there – and then they scored," Petke said.
Moments earlier, Blanco was helpless against substitute goalkeeper Andrew Putna, who began his third consecutive start in reserve for injured goalkeeper Nick Rimando, parried his shot to the ground.
The 31-year-old Argentine did not just watch the deflection. Instead, he jumped on the ball and scored his second goal of the season so hard that he dropped Putna's gloves and the inside of the farthest post for a quick advantage.
RSL tried to rally, sending 16 shots to seven in Portland. But the hosts scored only seven shots, and even Johnson's goal was hardly a consolation after Valeri gave the Timbers an advantage.
"First of all, let me tell you that I'm not really happy about scoring goals (without the win)." Scoring goals means nothing to me if we do not win matches, "he said. Johnson. "I'm 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 a short trip to Denver to face its rival Rapids Rocky Mountain, Colorado Rapids, on Saturday, May 11th. The kickoff is scheduled for 19h. MDT on KMYU and KSL.com.
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Sean Walker
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