SANDY – Portland’s defender Nat Borchers and midfielder Will Johnson returned to familiar territory on Saturday night to take on their former teammates in Salt Lake City. Unfortunately for Real Salt Lake, Borchers and Johnson were a little too familiar as the Timbers grabbed a tight 1-0 victory in extra time.
RSL outshot the Timbers 10-4 in the opening half and 15-10 over the span of the game, and despite RSL clearly controlling the majority of the game, Borchers knocked in the shot that counted in the 94th minute.
Johnson left Real Salt Lake nearly four years ago. Borchers, on the other hand, left his Claret and Cobalt uniform behind less than nine months ago. RSL is still enduring the healing process after losing Borchers, and his goal reopened the wound.
“I played with them (Borchers and Johnson) for many, many years. Before the game, I see them as friends,” RSL defender Jamison Olave said. “But during the game, it’s different. They’re just like the others guys.”
A native of Tucson, Arizona, Brochers spent seven years with RSL before being traded to the Timbers less nine months ago. Brochers’ goal marks his third on the season.
Although Borchers was thrilled to nail the game-winner, he held his celebrating to a minimum out of respect to his former RSL family.
Olave and Borchers have been friends for years, however. When the whistle blows for game time, Olave sees jerseys — not faces.
“It’s the same for me. All goals are the same for me,” Olave commented on Borchers’ game-winner. “The game was just painful.”
RSL had suffered only one home loss all-time against Portland in the last nine years — until Saturday. Borchers made certain to etch in RSL’s second loss on the RSL vs. PT record.
“We created a lot of chances, and we didn’t finish. It’s tough. It’s not good enough. In my opinion, you have to be smart. We pushed too hard in the first half and we couldn’t score,” RSL midfielder Javier Morales said. “If you can’t win, you have to lose. And we lost today.”
Johnson tackled RSL’s Sabastian Jaime from behind late in the first half, which resulted in a foul and an uproar from Johnson’s earlier fans. Johnson didn’t seem to be missed by the RSL nation.
However, there was a feeling of respect for Borchers that filled Rio Tinto stadium — even after nailing the game-winning goal.