PORTLAND TIMBERS vs. REAL SALT LAKE
Providence Park | Portland, Oregon
Saturday, September 10 | Week #27 | MLS Game #279
10:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE, ROOT Sports NW, KMYU)
A vital match in the Western Conference playoff race is ahead when the Portland Timbers play host to Real Salt Lake on Saturday evening at Providence Park. The Timbers come into the match sitting right on the red line in the conference in trying to keep their MLS Cup defense alive, coming off a 3-1 loss at West and MLS overall leaders FC Dallas last weekend. Real maintained their share of second place in the conference, coming back from two goals for a 3-3 draw with the LA Galaxy at midweek at Rio Tinto Stadium.
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- The Timbers suffered their fourth consecutive defeat on their travels, the only team in MLS still without a win on the road this season, after their 3-1 loss at FC Dallas on Saturday evening at Toyota Stadium. Diego Valeri scored his 11th goal of the season, now sitting in a tie for eighth place in the MLS Golden Boot standings.
- Yura Movsisyan scored both Real goals in their 2-1 home win vs. Colorado on Aug. 26, the fourth multiple-goal game of his MLS career, the first since July 24, 2009 when he hit for a brace vs. FC Dallas. The goals gave Movsisyan nine goals for the year, his single-season career-high in five MLS campaigns (previous high: 8, in 2009).
- The teams are meeting for the second time this season, the first two both ending in 2-2 draws. On June 18, Fanendo Adi and Lucas Melano each scored to give the Timbers a 2-1 lead, but Yura Movsisyan converted a late penalty kick for the result at Rio Tinto Stadium. On March 19 at Providence Park, Joao Plata and Movsisyan staked Real to a two-goal lead, but Adi scored two goals five minutes apart late in the second half to leave the teams in the draw.
- The only Portland home win vs. Real Salt Lake came in the first meeting ever, in 2011; the last five league meetings in Portland have all been draws, with three in a row all finishing goalless before the first meeting this year. The draw in the last meeting ended a three-game Timbers winning streak at Rio Tinto Stadium, their only wins ever in Utah.
REFEREE: Drew Fischer. AR1 (bench): Jeremy Hanson; AR2 (opposite): Philippe Briere; 4th: David Gantar
MLS Career: 60 games; FC/gm: 26.6; Y/gm: 3.0; R: 7; pens: 16
SUSPENDED: RSL: Jamison Olave (through Sept. 11)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: POR: Diego Chara
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: POR: Fanendo Adi, Alvas Powell, Liam Ridgewell, Jack Jewsbury … RSL: Sunday Stephen, Aaron Maund, Chris Wingert
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (16 meetings): Real 5 wins, 22 goals … Timbers 4 wins, 19 goals … Ties 7
AT PORTLAND (7 meetings): Timbers 1 win, 8 goals … Real 1 win, 8 goals … Ties 5
2016 (MLS)
3/19: POR 2, RSL 2 (Adi 79, 84 – Plata 16; Movsisyan 58)
6/18: RSL 2, POR 2 (Martinez 17; Movsisyan 70 – Adi 29; Melano 44)
- The teams are meeting for the second time this season, the first two both ending in 2-2 draws. On June 18, Fanendo Adi and Lucas Melano each scored to give the Timbers a 2-1 lead, but Yura Movsisyan converted a late penalty kick for the result at Rio Tinto Stadium. On March 19 at Providence Park, Joao Plata and Movsisyan staked Real to a two-goal lead, but Adi scored two goals five minutes apart late in the second half to leave the teams in the draw.
- The only Portland home win vs. Real Salt Lake came in the first meeting ever, in 2011; the last five league meetings in Portland have all been draws, with three in a row all finishing goalless before the first meeting this year. The draw in the last meeting ended a three-game Timbers winning streak at Rio Tinto Stadium, their only wins ever in Utah.
- Coaches record: Jeff Cassar vs. POR: P8 W1 L3 D4 … Caleb Porter vs. RSL: P11 W3 L2 D6
LAST MEETING (MLS)
- Real took the lead in the 17th minute when Juan Manuel Martinez headed in a corner from Javier Morales when all alone at the right post. But the Timbers equalized on a goal by Fanendo Adi in the 29th minute when he just outraced a defender and poked it past Nick Rimando.
- The Timbers then took the lead when Lucas Melano put in the rebound after a shot by Diego Valeri came back off the post in the 44th minute. But the equalizer came in the 70th minute when Yura Movsisyan just got a penalty kick past Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson, after defender Jermaine Taylor was adjudged to have committed a foul in the box.
- REAL SALT LAKE (4-1-2-3): Nick Rimando - Tony Beltran, Justen Glad, Aaron Maund, Chris Wingert - Luke Mulholland - Sunday Stephen (Jordan Allen 64), Javier Morales - Juan Manuel Martinez, Yura Movsisyan (Olmes Garcia 90), Joao Plata.
- PORTLAND TIMBERS (4-2-3-1): Jake Gleeson - Jermaine Taylor, Nat Borchers, Liam Ridgewell, Zarek Valentin - Diego Chara, Ben Zemanski - Lucas Melano (Jack Barmby 81), Diego Valeri, Ned Grabavoy (Darren Mattocks 76) - Fanendo Adi (Jack McInerney 90).
