The Vancouver Whitecaps returned home in search of a much-needed victory after a crushing 3-0 loss on the road to the Portland Timbers last weekend.
Vancouver entered the matchup two points adrift of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with five games remaining in the MLS season.
Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake looked to clinch a playoff spot by picking up an away point.
The Opening 45
Vancouver came close to taking the lead in the 3rd minute when Sebastian Fernandez wheeled away from Kyle Beckerman and sent a touch-pass to Pedro Morales in the six-yard box, but the Chilean fired high and wide.
A cagey opening half nearly turned on its head in stoppage time, as Vancouver was awarded a dubious penalty when RSL’s Alvaro Saborio was deemed to have taken down Kendall Watson.
However, Morales’ weak penalty attempt was easily turned aside by Jeff Antinella, and the teams headed into the interval tied 0-0.
The Second Half
The second half picked up right where the first left off, a fight for possession that was mostly contested in the midfield.
In the 56th minute, Javier Morales’ shot was turned aside by a nice punch-save from Vancouver’s David Ousted for a corner kick.
Real Salt Lake opened the scoring off of the ensuing corner through Nat Borchers, who nodded home from Morales’ cross to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The Whitecaps earned their second penalty of the match just two minutes after Real’s goal, when defender Carlos Salcedo chopped down Erik Hurtado.
This time, Morales would make no mistake, slotting home the equalizer to the right of Antinella to tie the game 1-1.
Hurtado nearly put Vancouver in front in the 64th minute, but the striker saw his shot turned aside excellently by Antinella.
Antinella made another excellent save in the 74th minute, punching Morales’ long-range shot over the crossbar.
Minutes later, a mix-up in the Vancouver defence allowed Joao Plata to streak in on a breakaway, but Ousted alertly left his goal to close down the angle and deny the scoring chance.
With the game seemingly destined for a draw, Morales once again stepped up to play the hero role, re-directing a shot from Steven Beitashour into the back of the net to put Vancouver up 2-1.
Real tried to battle back late, but the Whitecaps hung on to pick up three massive points to help their late-season playoff push.
Man of the Match
Pedro Morales
Although the midfielder struggled in the opening half, he was sublime in the second, scoring both Vancouver goals and leading many of his sides’ scoring opportunities.
Honourable mention
Russell Teibert as a terrier all over the field for Vancouver, admirably filling in defensive gaps while also distributing the ball intelligently.
Vancouver Whitecaps Line-up
1 David Ousted
33 Steven Beitashour
40 Andy O’Brien
4 Kendall Watson
2 Jordan Harvey
15 Matias Laba
31 Russell Teibert
30 Mauro Rosales
77 Pedro Morales
19 Erik Hurtado
7 Sebastian Fernandez
Substitutions: Nicolas Mezquida for Mauro Rosales (64), Darren Mattocks for Erik Hurtado (68), Kekuta Manneh for Sebastian Fernandez (77)
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