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PORTLAND, Ore. — After being down a goal a couple of times and playing with a man down, Real Salt Lake equalized its midweek match with the Portland Timbers 3-3 in stoppage time to grab a draw and a point on the road.
“I don’t know how I could be any prouder of these group of guys right now,” RSL head coach Jason Kreis said in the post-game TV interview. “Absolutely fantastic from my point of view. To be faced even before the game with so many difficulties — (Nick) Rimando out, (Kyle) Beckerman out, (Alvaro) Saborio out — and these guys just continue to battle and battle and battle, and I think in the end they got what they deserved.”
It was a result that felt like a win for the Salt Lake side.
“It was all about a response for me,” said Kreis. “It was about a response from the Galaxy game (Saturday night), it was about doing better and giving more of yourself, and those guys did it tonight. I think even, honestly, if we would have walked out of here losing 3-2, I would have felt the exact same way because they did what was asked — they gave absolutely every inch of themselves to the game tonight.”
The stoppage-time goal came from RSL midfielder Cole Grossman in the 93rd minute, his first with the Claret and Cobalt, in his first appearance since March 23 when he suffered a concussion against F.C. Dallas. Grossman was subbed into the match in the 82nd minute after midfielder Yordany Alvarez was shown a straight red card for a challenge in the 79th minute.
“The ball just popped out to me, just tried to keep it on net, luckily hit it with the left foot and it went in,” Grossman said in the post-game TV interview. “Happy to help the team any way that I can.”
The Portland side was the first to hit the back of the net off a header by forward Rodney Wallace in the 24th minute of play. The Salt Lake side answered back in the 38th minute to level the match 1-1 off a goal by defender Nat Borchers.
RSL went up 2-1 just before the half off a penalty-kick goal from midfielder Javier Morales in the 43rd minute before Portland leveled the match at two goals apiece in the 57th minute off midfielder Diego Valeri.
Aside from the struggles suffered in the match Wednesday night, the Salt Lake club suffered a handful of pre-game struggles, with the three regulars in Rimando, Beckerman and Saborio not available for Kreis, but its depth came up huge for the sideline boss.
“It’s amazing to me, amazing to me,” said Kreis. “Amazing to look at the depth that we had on our bench tonight, to look at the guys that we even left home that aren’t making the 18 at the moment, it’s absolutely amazing, and I just couldn’t be more happy or more grateful.”
The Claret and Cobalt will return to its home pitch Saturday to finish out its three-game week hosting MLS Eastern Conference opponent the Columbus Crew for their first and only meeting this regular season. Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
