Elite at home, Real Salt Lake go for elusive road win vs. Timbers

Real Salt Lake returned from the World Cup break hoping to prove they could win on the road.

After a 3-1 loss Wednesday at Los Angeles FC, they’ll get another chance Saturday night at Portland.

RSL (8-5-2, 26 points) is just 1-4-2 in away matches, the lone win coming 3-2 at Atlanta United on March 7.

“I don’t think it’s a secret,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “Obviously there’s a huge advantage to playing at home in this league and it’s very difficult to win on the road. Given that we’re going to have a lot of road games coming up, it’ll really stress us in that department, challenge us.”

After Saturday’s stop, RSL will wrap up a three-game trip next Saturday in St. Louis.

“Three games away in a row is a good chance for us to turn a narrative around,” said 19-year-old midfielder Zavier Gozo, whose six goals are tied with Sergi Solans for the team lead. “We struggle to win away, so I think it’s a good opportunity to show we can win away.”

Gozo scored in the previous meeting with Portland this season, May 2 in Sandy, Utah. He and Diego Luna scored first-half goals, Juan Manuel Sanabria had a pair of assists and goalkeeper Rafael Cabral kept a clean sheet with two saves. The hosts outshot Portland 25-11, with a 15-2 edge in attempts on target. Timbers goalie James Pantemis made a franchise-record 13 saves.

The Timbers (5-8-3, 18 points) are coming off a 2-2 draw with visiting FC Dallas on Wednesday, as Felipe Mora scored the equalizer in second-half stoppage time. Kevin Kelsy also tallied for Portland, his team-high eighth of the season.

“I think when you have this many games in tight in a week … you just focus on the next game,” said Timbers interim coach Jack Cassidy, who is 1-0-1 — including a 5-1 victory at Seattle — as the club waits for new coach Marti Cifuentes to sort out his visa.

–Field Level Media