Noel Caliskan and Diogo Goncalves scored first-half goals Saturday night and Real Salt Lake held off visiting St. Louis City SC 3-2 in Sandy, Utah.
RSL (6-10-4, 22 points) picked up a much-needed three points that moved it from 13th to 12th in the West table, just four points out of a playoff spot. The clinching goal came via the foot of St. Louis defender Joshua Yaro in the 64th minute as he deflected a crossing pass by goalie Roman Burki for an own goal.
Yaro scored into the correct goal in the 81st minute to draw St. Louis (3-12-6, 15 points) within a marker but St. Louis couldn’t deliver the equalizer, continuing a lengthy string of futility. The club is 1-12-4 in its last 17 matches and remains 14th out of 15 teams in the West.
Caliskan initiated scoring in the sixth minute off the reset of an RSL corner. Collecting the ball on the right side of the box, he wired a shot into the top-left corner of the net for his first goal of the year.
Goncalves made it 2-0 in the 43rd minute via good service from William Agada. He sent Goncalves on a run down the left side and Goncalves dribbled towards the middle, then ripped a shot that caromed off the inside of the right post and in for his second goal.
Facing a two-goal margin at halftime, normally offensive-challenged St. Louis hit the board in the 51st minute off a well-executed corner from Marcel Hartel. Joao Klauss headed it past Rafael Cabral for his sixth marker in his last six matches.
Klauss attacked relentlessly throughout the match, attempting a match-high seven shots. He squeezed off two in stoppage time, including a header just before the fixture’s conclusion that missed wide right.
St. Louis outshot RSL 17-15 after being outshot 12-5 at one stage early in the second half. Cabral and Burki each finished with four saves.
–Field Level Media
