Substitute Anderson Julio scored his fourth goal of the season in the 88th minute to lift Real Salt Lake to a dramatic 2-1 victory over Houston Dynamo FC on a damp and cool Wednesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Rubio Rubin contributed his fourth assist on the winner for RSL, who swept a two-game home set with the win after seeing out a 1-0 victory over Austin FC in Week 19.
Justin Meram opened the scoring 82 minutes earlier to give RSL a lead they held for the remainder of the first half.
Fafa Picault leveled on a corner kick header six minutes after halftime for the Dynamo, who are now winless in their last 13 and losers of their last four.
The Dynamo sank to 12th in the Western Conference with the defeat, while RSL sit fifth, ahead of Minnesota United FC via their +8 goal difference.
Julio's driven effort into the bottom right corner – after combining near the penalty arc with Rubin – punctuated a string of late chances for the hosts, who appeared to find a final gear in the final 15 minutes.
Marko Maric denied Damir Kreilach at the near post in the 80th minute, and moments later Darwin Ceren's last-minute tackle denied Rubin a chance at a winner.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: The second 45 minutes was a perfect encapsulation of why two fairly similar rosters in RSL and Houston find themselves in two considerably different places in the table. Houston easily had the better of the opening 30 minutes of that half, but didn't put a single shot on frame the entire evening after Picault's equalizer. Then after Julio and Maikel Chang entered in the 80th minute, the hosts created three chances that appeared more threatening than any of the Dynamo's, culminating in the on-loan Atletico San Luis forward's strike.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The words "88th-minute winner" speak for themselves. The goal was Julio's second off the bench this season, and it was his most important since his brace in a 2-1 win at Minnesota way back on Week 2.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Anderson Julio. Again, this isn't a complicated one. The element of danger to RSL's attack increased considerably when he and Chang stepped onto the field. His rescue job comes two matches after he made his first start for the Claret-and-Cobalt since June in a 1-0 Week 18 loss to the LA Galaxy.
Up Next
- RSL: Saturday, August 21 at Colorado Rapids | 9 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
- HOU: Saturday, August 21 at FC Dallas | 8:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
