Real Salt Lake

Coach Jason Kreis knew RSL had to beat defending champion Columbus in the first leg of their first-round playoff series at Rio Tinto Stadium today, if it was going to hold out any hope of advancing further in the Major League Soccer postseason.

Which is why he was so relieved after escaping with a dramatic 1-0 victory.

“It's big,” he said. “It's big. It gets our foot out there. And I think it gives us a little bit of a cushion — although I'm not so sure I'm going to approach that match thinking about that cushion, to be honest.”

That's because that while Robbie Findley's redirected 88th-minute goal gives RSL the chance to advance to the MLS Eastern Conference championship with merely a draw in the return leg at Crew Stadium in Columbus on Thursday night, the team does not exactly have a strong track record on the road. The record in the regular season was 2-11-2 — and the Crew were 9-2-4 at home, where they figure to put veterans Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno back into the lineup.

“If we go in there and play right, and our forwards finish the goals how they've been finishing them, I think we'll be OK,” goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. “We do have to be organized, though, going in there, because when you put Schelotto in there, it's a different team.”