The Portland Timbers hosted Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night in a US Open Cup Round of 32 match. In a game that would go back and forth several times, the Timbers would end up on the short end of a 4-3 final. Sebastián Blanco, Justin Rasmussen, and Jarosław Niezgoda scored for the Timbers. While Danny Musovski, Andrés Gómez, and Maikel Chang scored for Real Salt Lake, with Chang getting the final two goals.
The Timbers got off to a golden start, when in just the fourth minute, Noel Caliskan poked the ball loose deep in the RSL end of the field, and Sebastián Blanco turned on the ball and finished low below RSL goalkeeper Gavin Beavers, and the Timbers had jumped out to an early 1-0 lead.
In the 25th minute it appeared the Timbers would have a great chance to widen their lead when a penalty was called for a tackle on Nathan Fogaça in the box by the RSL goalkeeper, but after conferring with his side judge, the penalty call was reversed.
Then five minutes later, Real Salt Lake would tie it up when the Timbers failed to clear a dangerous ball that ricocheted around inside their box, and a pass fell to the feet of Danny Musovski, who dribbled around a Timbers defender and finished easily past goalkeeper David Bingham, and the score was tied at 1-1.
And in the 41st minute, RSL would take the lead out of nowhere, when Andrés Gómez made a brilliant curling shot from the corner of the box, which might have been an intended pass, but it didn’t matter because Bingham had no chance to stop it as it was perfectly placed into the upper left corner of the goal, and RSL suddenly had a 2-1 lead, which would be the score at the break.
But it would not take long for the Timbers to tie things up, when in the 49th minute, a pass from Caliskan found Timbers defender Justin Rasmussen wide open at the top of the box, and it appeared Beavers did not see his high shot until it was too late, and it was into the net and the game was level again at 2-2.
And just three minutes later, the Timbers were back in the lead, when a high ball into the box by Tyler Clegg was chested down by Fogaça, right into the run of Jarosław Niezgoda, who one-timed the shot just inside the right post, and the score was now 3-2 Timbers.
But the goals were coming quickly now, and RSL would grab the next one in the 55th minute when Gómez made a nice run down the right side, and slid a pass across the box to a wide open Maikel Chang, who finished inside the left post, and the match was tied at 3-3.
It only took four minutes for the visitors to be in the lead again, when after a Timbers turnover started a breakaway, Musovski found Chang with a nice pass, with the RSL midfielder having eluded his defender’s attempt to chase him down, and he finished into the open net for the 4-3 lead.
The Timbers would certainly have many chances to level, with nice shots by Victor Griffith, Dairon Asprilla, and Santiago Moreno in the closing minutes, including a failed bicycle kick attempt by Asprilla, but the Timbers never scored again, and ended up at the short end of a 4-3 final.
David Bingham recorded a single save for the Timbers, while Gavin Beavers had four for Real Salt Lake.
Timbers fall 4-3 at home to Real Salt Lake in US Open Cup round of 32 | Timbers website
