Columbus hits the road to face RSL

Sandy, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Columbus Crew SC and Real Salt Lake will both be looking to build some momentum when they square off at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday.

Both sides enter the contest just under the .500 mark, and both could use three points as a way to get them headed back up the standings in their respective conferences.

Salt Lake is coming off a 1-0 defeat at Red Bull New York on Wednesday that saw the club give away the lone goal four minutes into the contest to New York's Mike Grella.

Javier Morales was sent off in the 40th minute for RSL, reducing the team to 10 men, but even down a man, the club continued to play New York on even terms.

However, Demar Phillips also was hit with a straight red card in the 55th minute, leaving Jeff Cassar's team with nine men.

"I honestly believe, 10 versus 11, we were going to win this game." Cassar said. "We talked that the chances were going to show themselves, that we couldn't go chasing it too early and give up a second. The way they [RSL players] started the half was unbelievable. Then things changed obviously when we got our second red card."

Despite the disadvantage, Salt Lake stayed in the match until the end, which impressed goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

"I'm very proud of these guys," said Rimando. "The heat, the circumstances, going down two guys and just battling to the 94th minute, I'm just extremely proud of these guys. I think we showed a lot of character out there. Yes, we didn't get three points, but to see these young kids go out there and fight the way they did, in an away game, just a lot of respect for those guys in front of me."

The problem for RSL heading into the Columbus game on Saturday is that the club will now also be without both Morales and Phillips through suspension, while defenders Jamison Olave, Chris Schuler and Elias Vasquez are also likely to miss out.

Crew SC snapped a six-match winless skid on Wednesday with a 2-1 triumph over the New England Revolution thanks to a pair of goals from Kei Kamara.

Things got off to a rocky start for Columbus as the Revs scored in the opening minute, but Gregg Berhalter's men answered quickly as Kamara leveled the contest three minutes later.

Kamara then netted the winner five minutes after halftime with a big assist from Ethan Finlay, who now leads MLS with nine helpers on the season.

Berhalter acknowledged after the match that his team is not yet a finished product, although he was encouraged by the victory.

"I think that it was a good win; it was a tough win. At the end it got nerve- racking, so it was good to have to go through that and still get the three points," said Berhalter. "But I think we just want to keep making progress and I think that's the line we're going to go with - we want to keep improving. There's still things we can improve and that's where we're at."