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PORTLAND, Ore. — Real Salt Lake grabbed a point on the road Saturday night off a 0-0 draw with Major League Soccer Western Conference opponent the Portland Timbers and clinched itself a playoff berth for the sixth consecutive season.
“Really pleased,” RSL head coach Jason Kreis said in the postgame TV interview. “Pleased with the energy right from minute one, pleased that guys still had energy at the end of the game, so I think we’re in a really good spot. I think I look at this as a positive performance and say if we do this performance on the road in the playoffs, we’ll be in a very good spot.”
Although neither side saw the back of the net, both goalkeepers were kept busy as the possession juggled from one side to the next and each side saw a number of chances — Portland with nine and the Salt Lake side with eight.
It's something RSL went to Portland expecting, and knew what challenges it would face.
“Great effort from the guys in front of me,” RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando said in the postgame TV interview. “I thought we did great possessing, just playing team defense and offense. (Portland) got some opportunities at the end, we expected that, but we were able to hold them at zero.”
RSL ended the night with the edge on possession — 56.4 percent to Portland’s 43.6 percent — but RSL wasn’t able to translate it into a goal.
“Unlucky we couldn’t get a goal, but we kept it zero in the back,” said Rimando. “If we continue to play like that, we’ll win some playoff games.”
The draw put the Salt Lake club at 53 points on the season, keeping the Claret and Cobalt in the second slot in the Western Conference with a record of 15-10-8 and one final regular season match to be played.
The single road point result also kept RSL in the race for this season’s Supporters' Shield. The Salt Lake club sits two points behind Sporting Kansas City and just one point behind Portland and tied at 53 points with the New York Red Bulls.
The Claret and Cobalt will return to its home pitch inside Rio Tinto Stadium next Wednesday, Oct. 23, to host MLS Western Conference opponent Chivas USA in its final regular season match. Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
