Andy Rose’s stoppage time goal lifts Seattle over RSL

What looked like a certain draw at CenturyLink Field was rescued by a late Andy Rose goal to give the Sounders 3 more points.

Seattle had the first couple of legitimate chances for the match when Clint Dempsey forced Nick Rimando to make a diving save to his left on a shot from 25 yards. After a flick down header from Obafemi Martins, Dempsey had a go from distance and his slicing shot was caught by Rimando just as the clock struck 12 minutes in. 8 minutes later it was Martins who had a chance to get on the board when his chip came off the crossbar. A Lamar Neagle cross was headed by Chad Marshall onto the feet of Martins, who had gotten behind the defense, but the Nigerian had his shot come off the top of the bar.

It was Real Salt Lake who struck first though. Half an hour into the half Javier Morales put the visitors on the board on an assist from Luke Mulholland. A long switch set Mulholland up to make a play on the right side of the area, and after a slip on the turf, he played a pass into a streaking Morales who slotted the ball into the left corner of the net past Stefan Frei. Morales was in acres of space inside the box, leaving Sigi Schmid to question where his team’s defending was on the goal.

Just 5 minutes later Obafemi Martins had another chance at getting a goal. This time he was put through on a deflection from Clint Dempsey’s pass attempt. Martins gathered his shot from 23 yards and struck a rocket that was blocked by a streaking Dempsey, Martins then chased down the rebound and let a shot fly that was headed for goal but ricocheted off the hands of Nick Rimando.

Seattle finally evened the score in the 37th minute when Lamar Neagle sent a beauty curling into the top corner. It was an absolute marvelous shot from a long way outside the box. Neagle poked the ball past Kyle Beckerman and hit it perfectly flying past Rimando for a goal.

The scoring still wasn’t finished for the first 45. In the 42nd minute Obafemi Martins was at last rewarded for his hard work in front of goal. A nice piece of combination play between he and Dempsey sent him through on goal; Rimando came off his line to meet the striker, and got a finger tip on the shot, but Martins put enough on it to get by Rimando and give the Sounders a 2-1 lead going into the half.

Five minutes into the second half Salt Lake scored to even the contest. On their 5th corner of the match the initial ball in was cleared away to Morales who then passed to Joao Plata who had a shot at goal. Plata’s shot from distance deflected off a Seattle defender and found its way into the far post. The score was now 2-2.

Nat Borchers received a red card in the 68th minute when he dragged Obafemi Martins down outside the box, forcing RSL to play the final 22 minutes with 10 men. It was the denial of a goal scoring opportunity, but it was also sold very well by Martins. The ensuing free kick was put wide of the post by Clint Dempsey.

After playing the final minutes of regular time with a man down, it looked like RSL would get out of Seattle with a point as the fourth official put up 5 minutes on his board, one minute too long for RSL fans.

In the 94th minute the Sounders Andy Rose scored to take all 3 points. A long ball into the box was brought down by DeAndre Yedlin and then touched on to Andy Rose who put a shot into the far corner to seal the win and cap off a terrifically entertaining game.

Seattle are now on 54 points (17-7-3) and lead the Western Conference and the Supporter’s Shield race. The Sounders will play the Union on Tuesday in the final for the US Open Cup title. RSL now sit on 46 points (12-6-10) which places them 3rd in the West. They return to action on Friday when they host Colorado.

Sep 12, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Andy Rose (5) celebrates after scoring a goal in the 90th minute to defeat Real Salt Lake at CenturyLink Field. Seattle won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports