The Timbers continued their winless away game streak when they lost 3-0 to Real Salt Lake in Sandy, Utah on Saturday, despite the return of suspended defender Hanyer Mosquera.
Mosquera was suspended for three games and fined by MLS Disciplinary Committee for striking Los Angeles Galaxy’s Jack McBean during injury time of the MLS game June 17.
Mosquera missed the games against Seattle, Colorado and San Jose. Mosquera is an important player for the Timbers, having started 10 games this season. With him in the starting 11, the Timbers only conceded 10 goals in 10 matches, while without him they conceded five goals in three games.
In his absence, however, the Timbers managed to earn six points from the three games. This included a 2-1 win against Seattle, a 3-0 loss to Colorado and a 2-1 win against San Jose. Both the wins came while playing at Jeld-Wen Field.
On Mosquera’s return against Real Salt Lake, he did not make the starting 11. The Timbers conceded three goals and lost the match. Mosquera came on as a substitute in the 85th minute. This was the Timbers’ third consecutive loss on the road.
“It just wasn’t good,” Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins said in a statement after the loss. “There were times we did what we wanted to do, and there were times when we completely had the blinders on.”
The Timbers went into the halftime break level on the score sheet but conceded three goals in the second half. Real Salt Lake took 18 shots during the game compared to five shot attempts by the Timbers.
“The first hour was okay,” Perkins added. “I felt the second half we were just chasing the game. We didn’t hold the ball up enough to get guys out, and when we did we were too slow to get up.”
All three goals were scored by Real Salt Lake’s Álvaro Saborío. Saborío has now scored 16 goals this season. He kept Perkins busy with six shots on target in the game.
“We said it at the pregame meeting: When you let the guy [Saborío] have a chance, he puts it in the back of the net, as he proved today,” Timbers head coach John Spencer said. “He’s dangerous, one of best players they have in this league.”
Saborío caught the Timbers defense off guard and hammered in two goals in two minutes, one in the 60th and another in the 62nd minute.
“I think that it’s important that once you go a goal down you haven’t lost the game, but you have if you stop concentrating and you let it affect you mentally,” Spencer said. “I think the goal was a big punch in the gut for us.”
With this loss, the Timbers have now played eight away games without a win. They have 19 points from 17 games with a 5-8-4 overall record this season. They are currently ranked eighth out of the nine teams in the Western Conference.
“It’s great when we’re at home, sure,” Perkins said. “At some point, you have to draw the line and say enough is enough. Everyone’s got to say it, do it, believe it, and whether or not we win at home doesn’t matter. At this point we’ve got to win on the road.”
Next up for the Timbers is a regular season home game at Jeld-Wen Field. “We’ll concentrate on what went wrong today for our game next week versus Los Angeles,” Spencer said.