- Johnny Russell scored for Real Salt Lake in a 1-1 draw at Kansas City.
- Russell, a former SKC captain, showed restraint in not celebrating against his old team.
- RSL couldn't capitalize on a late advantage, remaining 13th in the Western Conference.
KANSAS CITY — Johnny Russell knew his first game back at Children's Mercy Park would be bittersweet.
The former Sporting Kansas City captain showed those mixed emotions after his goal on Saturday as his new Real Salt Lake teammates celebrated around him. But the Scottish winger remained silent and stoic.
It was the "classy" move for the 35-year-old veteran, following the unwritten rule of not celebrating when scoring in front of your former fans. Still, it was a massive moment in first-half stoppage time as his header on the assist from Alex Katranis gave RSL a 1-0 lead on the road heading into halftime.
"His experience always seems to put him in great positions," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said of Russell. "So now it's back-to-back games with goals (for him)."
Russell put his head down and hands up following the goal, as if to surrender to the raucous crowd that so passionately cheered in his favor for six years and against their bitter rivals from the Wasatch Front ever since a hard-fought MLS Cup final in 2013.
"It was a strange feeling," Russell said of the goal. "There were some people behind the goal that weren't too happy, but I made no secret I wanted to stay here (in Kansas City). The team didn't want me to stay here, so I moved on."
Johnny Russell knows something about scoring in Kansas City 😎
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 29, 2025
In his first match back in KC with @RealSaltLake, Russell fires RSL ahead.
📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/7pCrE8Hso2pic.twitter.com/gsIdClCU1b
It wasn't all peace and concession, however, as Kansas City fired back with a goal of its own in the 59th minute to tie the match at 1-1, and a grudge match to break the deadlock followed over the final half hour.
The yellow cards started to fly around the 70th minute as RSL's Zavier Gozo and SKC's Jacob Davis exchanged tackles and Davis was eventually sent off with a second yellow in the 82nd minute.
RSL was unable to capitalize on the one-man advantage, however, perhaps most critically on a Gozo shot inside the box in stoppage time that made it past the keeper but happened to catch the leg of a Sporting defender as he sprinted to cover the open goal.
"Gozo did a really good job with that and continues to impress in his poise in and around the box," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "But I think we're a bit hard done with not being able to capitalize on one of those opportunities."
The 1-1 result gave RSL a win and a draw in June after picking up four losses in the month of May. The Claret and Cobalt now face a more friendly July schedule with four of their five matches at home in Sandy.
"Home games are always an opportunity that you have to grab full force, so we're buzzing about it," Justen Glad said. "We know we need to get points, climb the table and then get above that playoff line. So, yeah, we're excited for the opportunity."
The first opportunity for 13th-place RSL to climb out of the Western Conference basement and into a top-nine playoff spot is an Independence Day weekend matchup against St. Louis on Saturday, July 5, at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
