SANDY, Utah -- Even as they went up a goal on FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake couldn't shake a nagging feeling that the Hoops had another late-game comeback lurking behind the corner -- waiting to steal away a couple of points.
When Robbie Findley put a goal away in the 86th minute to eliminate any such possibilities, RSL could finally feel some relief and celebrate a 3-1 victory at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night that puts it on the fringe of clinching a first-ever playoff berth.
"You never know what would have happened that last five minutes," said midfielder Will Johnson. "We haven't been the best holding leads lately. So to get that extra goal was important."
Findley simply provided the exclamation point a series of big second-half plays for RSL. Johnson got the ball rolling with the go-ahead goal in the 53rd minute.
It looked like the sort of drill you would see in practice. Chris Wingert fed him a crisp pass a few yards up from the right post and just outside the area. Johnson then flicked it up in the air and volleyed the ball perfectly on the turn over FCD 'keeper Dario Sala.
"You get a ball like that, you just give it a ride," Johnson said.
No one was more pleased with how that play turned out than head coach Jason Kreis. For several weeks, Kreis has been quick to dish out praise to the midfielder for his relentless energy and solid work ethic.
For Kreis, that play embodied many of the things he sees Johnson bringing to the pitch in crucial moments.
"I've said now for a few weeks that big games call for big players to make big plays," Kreis said. "That was a big play."
It helped erase an early goal that Dallas put on RSL. The Hoops seized the advantage in lightning-quick fashion when Marcelo Saragosa produced a nice header off a throw-in from Adrian Serioux.
Serioux put the ball into the goalmouth and, from there, Saragosa headed it down past 'keeper Nick Rimando.
RSL had not yielded a goal so quickly this season, but they bounced back when Yura Movsisyan came up with the equalizer before halftime.
Movsisyan finally put RSL on the board in the 35th minute. Morales crossed it into him around the upper portion of the penalty area. Movsisyan spun around a defender and fired a left-footed bullet that sailed past Sala inside the right post.
"It's always difficult to play from behind, but I think we dealt with it pretty good," Movsisyan said. "Our guys stepped up today -- everybody -- and we got the win."
Momentum began to turn in Real's favor a few minutes earlier when Saragosa was expelled from the match with a red card in the 30th minute. It left FCD down a man for the next hour of the match.
Playing against a team with a man down had not worked so well in past games this season for RSL. But the club learned its lessons and made it an advantage this time around.
"With one less player, we were able to manage the game a lot better," said midfielder Javier Morales, who finished with two assists to increase his season total to 15.
The only complaint Kreis had with game management was how his players approached the final 15 minutes. He felt like the fact Dallas had rallied in the final minutes of its previous two matches made his team take a much more reckless approach than what he wanted.
"We were probably being a little dishonest," Kreis said. "I thought at that moment we were thinking more about scoring the third goal than we were about making sure they didn't get the equalizer."
Those frustrations became a moot point once Findley came up with his big play.
Morales set him up nicely at the top of the penalty area to put things in motion. Findley then dribbled inside a Hoops defender and curled a perfectly placed shot over Sala and inside the upper right corner to end any hopes Dallas harbored for at least salvaging a tie.
RSL can solidify a playoff berth if Chivas USA earns at least a draw against Colorado on Sunday afternoon. If not, Real will clinch the Western Conference No. 3 seed with a draw against the Rapids next Saturday in Commerce City, Colo.
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