Real Salt Lake Makes It Back-to-Back Victories With Win Over Crew
Jul 3, 2019, 10:02 PM | Updated: 10:21 pm
Real Salt Lake forward Sam Johnson (50) kicks the ball in for a goal as Real Salt Lake and Columbus Crew play a Major League Soccer game at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy on Wednesday, July 3, 2019. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake picked up a much-needed win over the Columbus Crew Wednesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The win moves RSL to 8-8-2 on the season, and temporarily puts them back in the Western Conference playoff picture.
The first big moment of the game came in the 16th minute, when referee Victor Rivas went to VAR to judge a potential penalty by Nick Rimando. Rimando saved a chance by Crew striker J.J. Williams, which Rivas initially ruled a goal kick for RSL. Replay showed a possible penalty inside the 18-yard box on the play, but Rivas upheld his own ruling.
Lone Goal
20 minutes later, Real Salt Lake earned the match’s first goal. Aaron Herrera played the ball out of RSL’s own penalty box, over the top to Sam Johnson. Johnson blazed past two Crew defenders, heading the ball down to himself, and beating Crew goalkeeper Joe Bednik to his left. The goal gave Johnson eight goals on the season, his first with RSL.
Too Fast, Too Furious! pic.twitter.com/GKwgZmafvE
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 4, 2019
Chippy Second Half
The second half was much more physical than the first, with 29 fouls from both teams. The constant stoppage meant that neither team could establish a rhythm, and no goals were scored. The best chance came off a Albert Rusnak shot in the 60th minute that clanged off the post and went out of bounds.
Next Match
Real Salt Lake is back in action Saturday night at the San Jose Earthquakes. First kick is scheduled at 8:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on sports.ksl.com and the KSL TV app.
