MLS: Portland Timbers Meet Real Salt Lake With Playoff Dreams On The Line

Written by Patrick Echatah

Despite a stinging 4-0 home defeat against San Diego FC on Decision Day, Portland Timbers coach Phil Neville is focusing on a chance for redemption.

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The team will host the Western Conference Wild Card match against Real Salt Lake this Wednesday night (10:30 pm ET) and Neville’s message is all about seizing that opportunity.

“We’re in a position where the game on Wednesday night, I think we’ve got to use as a positive,” Neville told reporters earlier this week.

“A positive is, it’s a game where we can play a home game, a playoff situation where we can try and build some momentum. We’ve obviously not got momentum at this moment in time, but… I’ve got incredible confidence in this group of players.”

The Portland team, entering the MLS Cup Playoffs as the ninth and final seed, secured their spot in a dramatic fashion with a 2-2 draw on Decision Day against St. Louis CITY SC.

This close call puts head coach Pablo Mastroeni’s team firmly in the role of the underdog for the match against RSL.

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“The way I explained it to the group is we’re playing with house money, man,” Mastroeni said on Tuesday. “We snuck into this position during a really tough campaign, and now we’ve got to be brave in these moments.

“As they say, ‘Fortune always favors the brave,’ so that’s what we kind of want to bring up.”

The winner of this game will advance to face the No. 1 seed San Diego in a Best-of-3 Round One Series. That series kicks off Sunday with the first game on the road at 9:30 pm ET (viewable on MLS Season Pass, Apple TV).

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