Alexandros Katranis and Diego Luna scored and Real Salt Lake hung on for a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday in Sandy, Utah.
Zavier Gozo earned two assists as RSL (10-14-4, 34 points) ended their three-match losing streak. The victory puts Salt Lake just one point behind the San Jose Earthquakes for the final Western Conference playoff spot.
Rafael Cabral stopped three of four shots on target to earn his 10th win of the season.
Brayan Vera’s second-half own goal provided the only offense for Sporting Kansas City, who are 1-7-1 in their last nine regular-season matches. This slump has left Kansas City (7-17-6, 27 points) all but officially eliminated from playoff contention.
SKC goalkeeper John Pulskamp stopped five of seven shots on target.
Salt Lake outshot Kansas City by a 10-3 margin in the first half alone, including a 3-0 edge in shots on target. After some early struggles in translating that pressure into real scoring opportunities, RSL broke through in the 40th minute.
Gozo’s cross into the box was deflected by Victor Olatunji over to Luna, who was racing toward the net. Luna corralled the pass with his first touch, then finished with his second, resulting in his team-leading ninth goal.
In the 62nd minute, Gozo earned another assist on a pass within the box that found an open Katranis. The defender clinically deposited the shot for his first goal of the season.
Vera’s mistake revived Sporting Kansas City’s chances in the 71st minute. Daniel Salloi sent a cross in front, and Vera’s clearance attempt went into Salt Lake’s net.
The own goal brought some life to a Kansas City attack that had been dormant for most of the match. Dejan Joveljic had a pair of quality close-range chances in the 74th minute, but Cabral made big saves to deny the star forward’s first attempt, then the rebound.
Sporting Kansas City are 3-10-2 in away matches this season, with the fifth-fewest road points (11) in the league.
–Field Level Media
