It was a last-minute win for Real Salt Lake in its first leg of the MLS playoffs.

Real Salt Lake played the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference Semifinal series, scoring the game’s only goal in the 88th minute. The goal came just in time to eliminate any comeback from Columbus.

“I wanted to win … I was willing to make any changes to make that happen, to go for it,” said coach Jason Kreis. “I wasn’t going to be content with 0-0.”

The game began with both teams keeping even possession of the ball, making it clear that they were not going to give up a goal very easily as both defensive ends held strong. Real goalkeeper Nick Rimando had two saves in the first half of the game, compared to Columbus’ one.
“They tried to make it difficult for us to play,” said team captain Kyle Beckerman. “Sometimes it’s just a battle in there.”

Much of the battle took place in the middle of the field, with the total number of shots kept low for both Real and Columbus.

“I was a little disappointed in the play tonight, a little disappointed that we couldn’t be more stylish,” said Kreis. “I like to win our games at home with a little more flair and a little more possession, but it’s the playoffs and things are different.”

Despite the low number of shots, Real got past the Columbus defense to score shortly before the whistle blew to end the game. Real forward Yura Movsisyan got the ball from a throw in and crossed the ball to forward Robbie Findley, who took the ball near the goal post and scored.

Leg two means another Real and Columbus face off, this time at Columbus’ home field in Ohio. The Crew went into the playoffs as the overall points leader but didn’t go in with momentum, having lost their last four games of the regular season.

Real is looking at the first of the playoff games against Columbus as a “halftime” of sorts, with the second half still waiting to be played on Thursday.

“We were able to get a goal [tonight], and now we go over there, and it’s going to be tough,” said Findley. “It’s going to be a hard fought game, but we’ve got to bring it and leave it all on the field.”

Real knows Columbus will be waiting to turn things around and dominate the playing field at home.

“We just need to stay focused, stay organized and capitalize on any scoring chance we get,” said Beckerman.

Regardless of whether Real wins in leg two of the playoffs, Saturday’s game was the final game held at home this year. Real ends its season with a record of 11-12-7 and enters the playoffs as the postseason’s highest scoring team.