SANDY, Utah – Real Monarchs SLC was going to maintain second place in the Western Conference no matter Saturday’s result, but the club knew it needed a strong performance to keep pace with San Antonio FC.

With a couple solid finishes on the offensive side in the first half and defensive fortitude in the second, the Monarchs fought for a 2-1 victory against the Swope Park Rangers on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Chandler Hoffman and James Moberg provided the scoring, but ultimately the game boiled down to enduring a final 15 minutes in which Swope Park was knocking on the door for a potential equalizer.

“It comes down to grit at the end of the day,” Hoffman said. “We have guys fighting 90 minutes, and I couldn’t be more proud of the guys in front of me, the guys on the side of me. Especially from Connor Sparrow and that amazing save at the end. Without that, it’s 2-2, so very good job from everyone in the team.”

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The big stop from Sparrow came in the third minute of second-half stoppage time, when the Rangers crossed the ball in toward Amer Didic, who redirected toward the left side of the frame. Sparrow rushed to his right in the nick of time to get a glove on the shot and preserve the win, helping Real improve to 5-1-0 (15 points) this season.

“Connor’s a very good keeper. We’ve got a number of good goalkeepers at the club,” Monarchs Head Coach Mark Briggs said. “I think you saw today, he pulled off a great save at the end to keep us in the game and give us the three points. … I don’t expect any difference from the performance we got today.”

With the exception of a lapse that led to Kharlton Belmar’s third goal of the season, the Monarchs did their part to shut down a Swope Park team that was hoping for a bounce-back performance following a road loss to Phoenix Rising FC.

“When you’re down a goal, you’re going to try to fight and push for the game, and so will the other,” Belmar said. “Things got a little bit physical, but it is what it is.”

The highlight of the match offensively was Moberg’s game-winning strike in the 36th minute. Following a 2016 campaign in which he saw less than 200 minutes of play, the versatile defender-midfielder, who started at center back, notched his second tally of the season to energize the Monarchs in the opening half.

Briggs and the staff have been thoroughly impressed with Moberg’s contributions thus far this season.

“James continues to perform at a very high level,” Briggs said. “I think he’s been one of our best players this season. He’s scored a couple of goals, he defends with his heart, and he plays with his heart on his sleeve, as they say. James gives everything every time he crosses that line, and his performances just seem to get better and better.

“He scored a goal today that I think any center-forward in the world would be happy with.”