Real Salt Lake and the Portland Timbers played to a physical 2-2 draw in their return to MLS action on Saturday.

The Timbers took a 2-1 lead into the half, but RSL equalized at home by way of a controversial penalty call in the 70th minute.

In the 18th minute, Jeff Cassar’s men went up a goal by way of a Juan Manuel Martinez back-post header. Martinez worked his way around a defender to latch onto Javier Morales’ corner kick from the left wing.

Caleb Porter’s men leveled the Western Conference showdown 11 minutes later as Fanendo Adi used his physical prowess to work out of Justen Glad’s hold. Once the Nigerian was able to break free into the box, all he had to do was poke his shot past Nick Rimando.

The Timbers moved into the lead right before the halftime whistle as Lucas Melano finished off a rebound from the right side of the penalty area. Rimando denied Diego Valeri’s attempt from the left side of the box, but the rebound rolled right over to Melano, who coolly sent his first goal of the season past a diving Rimando.

Despite fielding a side with heavy legs following a 120-minute U.S. Open Cup match on Tuesday, the Claret and Cobalt took the game to the visitors throughout the final 45 minutes.

RSL finally found a chance to equalize in the 70th minute, when Jermaine Taylor fouled Yura Movsisyan on the left side of the area. Taylor originally got the ball during his tackle, but he left his leg out and that made contact with a falling Movsisyan.

Movsisyan proceeded to slot his penalty into the left side of the net past Gleeson to the dismay of Porter and the rest of the Timbers bench.

Both sides created scoring opportunities in the final 20 minutes, but neither could find a third breakthrough thanks to the displays in goal from Rimando and Gleeson.

The draw kept RSL unbeaten at home in 2016 and in third place in the West. Portland remains in seventh after the tie.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Yura Movsisyan was a dominant force moving forward in the second half. He showed no fear taking on Nat Borchers one versus one and eventually earned a penalty for his efforts. The 28-year-old put three of his six shots on target despite making just 26 touches.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

The penalty call in the 70th minute will be debated by both sides in the next day or two. RSL thought it was a clear penalty due to the contact between Movsisyan and Taylor, while the Timbers disagreed with the call due to Taylor’s clearance of the ball before he touched the RSL forward.

MATCH TO FORGET

Jermaine Taylor had a rough night dealing with the explosiveness of the RSL attackers. The combination of Plata, Morales, Martinez and Movsisyan created a good amount of chances against the full back, who was also at fault for the tying tally.