Real Salt Lake held scoreless by Minnesota in 3rd straight draw

It’s the third consecutive draw for Salt Lake (14-7-11, 53 points), which has just two wins in its last 10 matches.

For Minnesota United, every point matters as the Loons try to secure a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Real Salt Lake might need the same mentality to book a spot in the top-four in the West and home-field advantage in the first round of the postseason.

On Wednesday night, advantage went to the Loons.

Dayne St. Clair made four saves, and Minnesota United exited America First Field with a scoreless draw against a shorthanded Real Salt Lake in Sandy, Utah.

It’s the third consecutive draw for Salt Lake (14-7-11, 53 points), which has just two wins in its last 10 matches.

“They came in and sat back, and I think their central defenders did a really good job defending the box,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said after the match. “It’s always going to be tough to score against a group that drops back and defends really well.

“The game had a real playoff feel … and the margins were thin.”

In a first half more recognized for a quartet yellow cards and a visibly frustrated captain in Chicho Arango, Salt Lake out-shot the visitors 7-2 but only put three shots on goal and couldn’t find a breakthrough.

But no goal came. Not after 10 shots, four shots on goal, five corner kicks, six crosses and three offsides.

Instead, Salt Lake was held to 0.9 expected goals (xG) while Minnesota inched back into the match and claimed the point on the road.

“We had a lot of the ball,” said Mastroeni, whose finished with 59% of possession. “But we were just kind of creating an umbrella around their shape.”

Brayan Vera was assessed a red card for poor sportsmanship after video review appeared to indicate he spit in the face of a Minnesota defender in the third minute of stoppage time.

It’s the second red card in 34 games for Salt Lake.

“Vera is a player who plays with a lot emotion and passion,” Mastroeni said in Spanish. “When he does, he’s a top-class player. But when he passes that level and loses his head, he does damage to himself but moreso does damage to the team.

“I had those moments when I was a player, too. I had to learn how to control my emotions in difficult moments. That’s going to be one of biggest challenges.”

This came after RSL’s Arango and Minnesota’s Michael Boxall were each awarded a yellow for their role in an incident near the penalty area at the close of regulation — and RSL fans let their displeasure be voiced, too, stopping play for several minutes while debris was thrown on the pitch.

“I think emotional control is paramount,” Mastroeni said. “It’s already difficult playing against really good teams. We can’t make it easier getting caught up in the emotions.”