Vera's free kick helps depleted RSL bounce back with 1-1 draw at LAFC

"Everyone that stepped on the field tonight was great, because they played for each other," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said after bouncing back from a 3-0 loss at Portland.

With an injury and suspended list that numbered nearly as long as the bench, Real Salt Lake took a depleted lineup to Los Angeles to face top-tier LAFC in a midweek match Wednesday night.

And controlled the evening, all while playing as many as seven defenders — and bringing Justen glad back from a seven-week ankle injury to play attacking midfield in stoppage time, and lacking top goal scorers Chicho Arango and Andrés Gómez, who have combined for more than two dozen goal contributions.

Instead, it was Brayan Vera’s set-piece goal that helped RSL split the points with LAFC, 1-1 at BMO Stadium in downtown Los Angeles.

Zac MacMath made four saves in goal for Real Salt Lake.

But if Saturday was a “team of individuals,” Real Salt Lake corrected course — whether it was through Vera or Braian Ojeda or Nelson Palacio or anyone else — to improve to 12-4-8 with 44 points on the season.

“Ojeda did fantastic tonight, but I’d say Nelson was fantastic tonight. Philip was fantastic tonight, Vera, Alex, Bode; everyone that stepped up on the field was great tonight — because they played for each other,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said. “That, for me, gives me real joy when you talk about teams.

“Everyone likes to talk about the stars. But what I’m big on is a group. And when a group commits to one other like tonight, you’re going to have 11 really good performances on the field.”

Cristian Olivera scored early on the counter, taking advantage of an over-stretched MacMath — who lay prone around the edge of the penalty area — to give LAFC (13-5-5, 44 points) a 1-0 advantage in the fifth minute.

Vera leveled in the 33rd minute, sliding a left-footed laser off a free kick from distance that caromed off Ilie Sanchez’s ankle to equalize for the visitors at 1-1.

“The first thought I had was to look for a header from (Matt Crooks) or (Philip Quinton),” Vera said. “But when I saw that LAFC only put one player in the wall, I knew I had to take advantage of it.”

That helped Salt Lake find the game in the first half, which finished with the visitors garnering 52% of possession, out-shooting LA 10-5, and converting its goal off just two shots on target before the break.

“The first five minutes (of the second half) were critical. We wanted to get after the ball; we don’t want them to get into rhythm, to get them to force it long, to keep the temp,” Mastroeni said. “I think the first five minutes of both halves against Portland were terrible; it was lackluster, it was a lot of things. But today, even though we conceded early in the first half, I thought we still had an impressive half.

“But the first five minutes of both halves allows you to grow into the game and to dictate the tempo in which you want the game to be played at.”

Braian Ojeda was the engine of the first-half spurt, winning duels, capturing 50-50 balls, and dispossessing attackers like the former Nottingham Forest midfielder that RSL signed permanently to a U22 initiative contract last August.

Salt Lake continued its aggressive approach, even after taking off primary attackers Anderson Julio and Maikel Chang and offensive-minded left back Alex Katranis for Andrew Brody, Emeka Eneli and Bryan Oviedo. The visitors out-shot LAFC 18-9 — the hosts were, perhaps, more clinical with five shots on target to RSL’s three — and held more than 54% of possession.

But it was enough to take a road point off the Angelenos, just three days after one of the worst performances of the season in a 3-0 loss to the Portland Timbers.

“As the season goes and you keep getting results, there are very few times to have a call-to-arms meeting, about a deciding moment. Either we’re going to be a shell of ourselves, or we’re going to show up,” Mastroeni said. “As a coach, our job is to hold the players to the standards that they’ve set — not that we’ve set. But when you go to the all-star game and people start writing about you, it is only natural that you start playing for yourself. But that’s why I loved this performance: It was a humble performance over 90 minutes.

“They’re not too proud to admit that they let themselves down. And that’s a really powerful thing … and I learned a lot about myself, too.”

Real Salt Lake heads to Colorado for the final leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MT (MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

Gómez will be available on the weekend after serving a one-match suspension due to yellow card accumulation. Arango has served his first of a four-match suspension for violating league rules, a run that will also include next week’s MLS All-Star Game and the Leagues Cup opener Aug. 1.