With a long road swing ahead and its next MLS game at Rice-Eccles Stadium a month away, no one needed to tell Real Salt Lake how important a home victory against Toronto FC would be.
RSL will hit the road with an extra boost of momentum after taking care of the Reds with a 2-1 victory on Monday night.
Jamison Olave produced his first career MLS goal and Robbie Findley scored the late game-winner -- just three minutes after Amado Guevara equalized from a free kick -- to propel Real to a win in a game that head coach Jason Kreis tabbed as the most crucial of the year for the club.
RSL attacked the goal almost from the opening minute, but came away with little to show for it early in the match.
A personal duel developed between Real forward Yura Movsisyan and TFC 'keeper Greg Sutton. Movsisyan made attempts in the seventh and ninth minutes to sneak the ball past Sutton, but the TFC shot-stopper made a pair of impressive saves on the shots.
Findley had his chances at creating some offensive momentum as well, but could not finish once he latched onto the ball.
Findley popped out a weak shot in the 12th minute that was easily scooped up by a rolling Sutton. He missed an even better opportunity in the 27th minute. Chris Wingert set Findley up with a perfect cross inside the six-yard box, only to see him clank a chip shot off the left post and back out the other side.
RSL had one final chance to punch in a goal before halftime when Kyle Beckerman launched a ball from 30 yards out in the 39th minute. Beckerman's shot did not get far, however, before Sutton fisted it away.
Toronto struggled to penetrate the RSL defense in the first half -- creating only a single shot on goal during the first 45 minutes. But over the final minutes of the half TFC were most dangerous -- a header from Laurent Robert in the 43rd minute beat RSL 'keeper Nick Rimando, but crashed off the crossbar. Then Abdus Ibrahim was all alone at the back post on the end of a cross, but put it into the outside of the net.
Then again in the second half, the Reds put a momentary scare into that iron-clad backline. Ibrahim rifled the ball in from close range in the 58th minute. Dema Kovalenko met his shot in the nick of time at the post and blocked it. RSL 'keeper Nick Rimando quickly recovered the ball and cleared it to safety.
RSL went on the attack a few minutes later and finally hit paydirt. Olave tried for a header in the 61st minute when Javier Morales fed him the ball off a free kick. That initial shot went wide.
Olave finished what he started when he got a second try two minutes later. Chris Wingert sent in a long ball from the right side toward the Colombian defender in front of the left post. Olave leapt into the air and got his head under the ball -- pushing it over Sutton for his first goal in a RSL uniform.
RSL did not have trouble making the slim 1-0 margin stand up initially. Ibrahim broke free and launched the ball downfield in the 75th minute, but his shot barely crossed the goal area before Rimando made a diving catch to snag it out of the air.
Toronto finally got on the scoreboard though when Olave was issued a yellow card in 83rd minute. The foul set up a direct free kick just outside the top of the penalty area, and Guevara curled his shot over the wall and under the post past Rimando's dive to knot the game at 1-1.
But Findley finally came through on the other end in the 87th minute. After Sutton deflected a shot by Beckerman toward the top of the box, the ball bounced around until Findley corralled it. He beat a pair of Toronto defenders to the ball and threaded a sliding strike right between them to put Real up 2-1.
It was Findley's fifth goal of the season -- a team high. He nearly netted another on a breakaway during stoppage time before Sutton came out and snatched the ball away at the last minute.
John Coon is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
