Facing elimination, Real Salt Lake host the Houston Dynamo in game two of that best-of-three MLS Cup playoff series at America First Field on Monday.
Orange Crush scored 11 minutes from the end to win the opening encounter between the two, 2-1, putting Claret and Cobalt on the verge of being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a second successive campaign.
Match preview
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In what appeared to be an all-out defensive approach, the RSL backline ultimately succumbed to the Dynamo pressure, losing a sixth MLS fixture this year by a single goal.
Salt Lake had a mere 28% possession, while Houston put together twice as many passes as Claret and Cobalt throughout the 90 minutes.
While this team improved their position in the Western Conference table this season, they had difficulty staying compact defensively late in matches, conceding eight goals in the regular season and playoffs beyond the 75th minute.
Pablo Mastroeni's men also had a habit of falling behind early and often throughout the domestic campaign, conceding the opening goal 18 times in the 2023 regular season and playoffs, winning only twice when doing so (2-1 versus the Vancouver Whitecaps both times).
On Monday, they will host an MLS playoff game for the first time since 2019, and they are unbeaten in their last five post-season encounters played in Sandy, Utah.
RSL have not been behind for a single minute in an MLS home playoff game since 2013, when the Portland Timbers were ahead of them for 21 minutes in the opening leg of that Western Conference Final before Salt Lake stormed back to win 4-2.
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It was a solid opening game that Ben Olsen will be delighted about, as his side were in control versus RSL last Sunday, with their patience eventually paying off.
With the win, Orange Crush extended their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions, giving them a chance to advance into the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Over their unbeaten run, the Dynamo have yet to concede a goal in the opening half, while nine of their 13 goals scored in that span happened during the first 45 minutes of play.
They have not lost a domestic contest throughout the 2023 campaign when scoring first, winning their last three such encounters.
Houston have never lost a playoff encounter when netting multiple times, but before their opening game against RSL, they had gone goalless in three of their last four post-season contests.
Orange Crush only won three away contests during the regular season, but one of those victories came at America First Field versus RSL (3-0), while they have lost two of their last three playoff encounters as the visiting team.
Team News
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There will be numerous question marks regarding some key RSL players for this match as Marcelo Silva missed the opening game to attend a personal matter in Uruguay, Brayan Vera (ankle), Erik Holt (shoulder), Justen Glad (adductor) and Chicho Arango (hamstring) are all questionable with injuries, while Pablo Ruiz is out with a knee strain.
Last Sunday, Diego Luna scored for the sixth time across all competitions in 2023, becoming the youngest Claret and Cobalt player to ever find the back of the net in a playoff game, surpassing Yura Movsisyan.
Zac MacMath has conceded five goals in his previous two competitive matches versus the Dynamo after posting three successive clean sheets before the two sides met in the US Open Cup semi-final this year, while his last victory against them came in 2022 when former strikers Bobby Wood and Sergio Cordova found the back of the net and current defender Justen Glad also scored in a 3-0 triumph.
In the first match of this series, Houston were missing Tate Schmitt and Ifunanyachi Achara because of knee injuries, and they are both unlikely to see the field on Monday.
Hector Herrera notched the opener for Orange Crush last weekend as the Dynamo skipper has a goal contribution in three successive matches, while Amine Bassi put home the winner, his second in three games.
Steve Clark has conceded just once versus RSL in his last three matches played against them, posting a clean sheet in their previous visit to America First Field when Corey Baird, Daniel Steres and Adalberto Carrasquilla scored, enabling the Dynamo to prevail 3-0.
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Hidalgo, Glad, Oviedo; Brody, Loffelsend, Julio, Ojeda; Savarino, Rubin, Luna
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Dorsey, Sviatchenko, Micael, Escobar; Artur, Herrera; Carrasquilla, Bassi, Caicedo; Baird
We say: Real Salt Lake 0-1 Houston Dynamo
The high altitude in Utah could make it difficult for either side to create chances, but ultimately, we believe the midfield quality of Houston, combined with the injury concerns at RSL, will enable the visitors to advance into the next round.
How to watch
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Joel Lefevre
