Revs Roll To MLS Cup

Jay Heaps & Revolution Lift Eastern Conference Championship Trophy (Photo: David Nordstrom)

On a rather frigid night in Foxboro, Massachusetts the New England Revolution closed in on the New York Red Bulls to pull out a nail-biting 2-2 tie and ultimate 4-3 aggregate series win of the MLS Eastern Conference finals. Although a sense of nervousness in the air at times, the Revs proved to be resilient once again in what could be a historic result for the franchise as well as the opponent.

Charlie Davies, a rebound striker of late, once again won the hearts of the Foxboro faithful as he netted two goals in opportune moments to seal up the Revolution victory. First a rough header in the 41st minute to equalize, followed by another equalizer in the 70th minute from a beautiful Chris Tierney cross. Davies’ ability to continue to score at a high level and press often has now paid huge dividends all post season and will hopefully roll into his first MLS Cup appearance.

Overall, it felt as if the Red Bulls did keep New England on their back heels for some major minutes. A few bad defensive decisions and alleged world-class striker Thierry Henry’s skill set will do harm to any team. However, barring a rather nervous crowd at Gillette Stadium, New England remained calm, cool, & collective when the series was completely tied-up after Luyindula’s 51st minute goal. Shuttleworth remained a rock in net while Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones controlled the midfield with smart decisions. Jay Heaps’ system is one without too many flaws and it could be a winning combination for more than the Eastern title.

Unfortunately, the elephant in room was Thierry Henry and his future with not just the MLS, but soccer in general. Henry looked rather choked up as he walked away from a post game media interview. The same concerns lie with Tim Cahill and other DP’s around the league but the fact of the matter is that this was not their night to be in the spotlight. As the MLS grows and matures into the ‘major’ league the U.S. is yearning for, focus must be on the winning teams as much as the all-stars. Sure this game could have meaning as MLS pioneers’ last game but let us also observe the implications it had as teams gaining popularity and traction in their respective locations. New England is looking to move to a brand new stadium in downtown Boston in the very near future, and what better proof of a strong fan-base or dedicated season ticket holders than this game as well as the upcoming MLS cup.

Looking ahead, the Revolution’s fate lies in the hands of the LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders as they battle for the Western Conference title Sunday night. The winner of that match will host the MLS Cup on December 7th and take on the ever so hungry New England Revolution.

– Matt Bloom & Joe Guidoboni

Red Bulls Force 1-1 Draw on Revolution

New England’s Diego Fagundez found his second goal of the season Saturday, but it would not be enough to send the NY Red Bulls home with no points. (Photo: David Silverman)

In what looked to be a wet and messy game by match start, the skies cleared up for what would be a fair test as the New York Red Bulls faced the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium Saturday night. After a 0-0 first half and Red Bull star Thierry Henry remaining on the bench, scoring opened up in the second which lead to a 1-1 draw between the Eastern Conference foes. New York will remain on top in the East at 21 points (6-4-3), while New England sits at 7th place with 10 points (2-4-4).

Although the first half was rather uneventful, both teams had a few close goal opportunities. Possession undoubtedly favored the Revolution, not only capturing a 55.3% possession by game’s end, but out shooting New York 12 to 9 with three more shots on target. Perhaps New England starting Dimitry Imbongo over Jerry Bengtson was a factor in this regard. Imbongo looked as if he had something to prove in his first start of the season with his constant motor and ability to create one beautiful run of his own that almost lead to goal.

New England would strike first come second half, finally scoring from a corner kick in the 54th minute. Chris Tierney launched the ball out of the right corner as Diego Fagundez positioned himself nicely for a shot on goal. The kick was first saved by New York keeper Luis Robles but the rebound came right back to Diego who easily cleaned up the play for his second goal of the season. Criticism has come the past few matches for lack of offense from the Revolution but one thing is for certain, Diego Fagundez is doing his part in the Starting XI. It may look like a tough decision for coach to pick a pair of starting strikers out of group consisting of top talents such as Jerry Bengtson and now Juan Agudelo, but fans should hope Jay Heaps does not switch out Fagundez as he remains the hot player on the pitch.

The 1-0 lead for New England would sadly only last one minute. Just seconds after Diego’s score, the Red Bulls’ Lloyd Sam would catch the Revolution defense off guard and  drive a grounder under Bobby Shuttleworth for the 1-1 tie in the 55th minute. The defense is partially at fault here, but it was rare to see Shuttleworth rather unprepared for Sam’s tough-angled shot. New York’s goal instantly took away the energetic atmosphere at Gillette Stadium and would end up being the last goal scored of the match.

The Revs have only scored two goals in their past three matches, leaving their banged up defense to do all the dirty work to stay competitive. It is clear the team misses leader A.J. Soares in the back line as well as Kevin Alston’s speed in the left back position. Even when the defense does hold, the scoring must not come so inconsistently. New addition Juan Agudelo hopes to change that, and if Jay Heaps sees Agudelo as the threat up top he claims to be, one can hope New England will score two or three goals per match more often.

Looking towards next week, the Revs will head to BBVA Compass Stadium next Saturday to face the highly-competitive Houston Dynamo (6-2-2). The match will start later than most in the MLS at 8:30pm ET.

Matt Bloom

New England Swallows Tough Loss

(Photo: David Silverman)

After pulling away with a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute, the New England Revolution could not hold in the second half, conceding two goals to Real Salt Lake and ultimately losing 2-1. The Revolution fall to 2-4-3 on the year, putting them all alone in 7th place with 9 points in the Eastern Conference.

The first half of play was dreadful at best, as the dreary rain seemed to bring on dreary play over the two clubs for the first 45 minutes. On seven corner kicks for the Revs, not one found it’s way on target in the first half. Scoring opened up in the second, starting with a New England goal in the 51st minute from Ryan Guy. Kelyn Rowe controlled the ball beautifully outside the box only to send it over as Guy struck a rocket out of the air and past Real Salt Lake goal keeper Nick Rimando. However Guy’s athletic back flip celebration may have come too soon.

New England fell back into a much too comfortable state following the goal, allowing a Devon Sandoval goal to come in the 77th minute from a rebound off Bobby Shuttleworth. The rookie’s strength was clearly enough to overpower Goncalves in front and tip the ball over Shuttleworth who was recovering from his fall to the ground. Following the equalizer, Olmes Garcia would give Real Salt Lake the lead just 12 minutes later, also sneaking a rebound goal past Bobby in the 89th minute. With the go-ahead goal in place, New England would find themselves in a tough situation down 2-1 with time ticking away.

A controversial yellow was given to Carlos Salcedo in extra time as he dragged down Revolution defender Stephen McCarthy on his attempt to complete a header in the box. This was Salcedo’s second yellow of the match, making the booking a red card with just minutes left. Unfortunately, a semi-healthy Saer Sene could not capitalize on the penalty kick. Keeper Nick Rimando read Sene like a book, moving to his lower-right side for the save and sealing up the victory for Real Salt Lake at 2-1.

Only mixed feelings can come from such a wild match since certain players looked great while others performed under par. Rowe and Nguyen once again continued to shine in the midfield while Andrew Farrell and Stephen McCarthy remained strong in the defensive core. After substitutions, a whole new game came about for Real Salt Lake. They found the back of the net twice and made Juan Toja look foolish towards the final minutes. Jerry Bengtson was once again non-productive, allowing a critical scoring opportunity early in the match to slip away.

Overall the Revs played solid considering their team is still quite injury plagued and an experienced Kalifa Cisse could not make the start in the 4-1-4-1 formation. The defense stood tall for most of the match but scoring will continue to be the focus of the team’s troubles. Just when it looked like the shots on target number was on the rise, New England put up a dismal 3 shots on net while Real recorded 7. Perhaps a healthy Juan Agudelo could turn these stats around since the Jerry-Fagundez scoring combo clearly is not impressing anyone.

The Revolution will look for a critical three points this Saturday when they host their Eastern Conference foe New York Red Bulls. April 20th was the last meeting between the two squads with New York capturing a 4-1 victory at Red Bull Arena. With the talents of Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill coming in, the Revs must step up the scoring to compete with the 20 point team. The match will kickoff at 7:30pm ET at Gillette Stadium. Coverage can be found on Comcast Sportsnet New England and 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Matt Bloom