New Lineup, Late Substitutions Lead Revs To 2-1 Victory

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Matt LaPan, Go Local Sports Reporter

 

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Teal Bunbury was a late substitute, and led the Revs to victory

The New England Revolution entered Sunday’s match with the Philadelphia Union without half of their starting back line. Both Jose Goncalves and Darrius Barnes missed the match with injury, and Chris Tierney was not healthy enough to play a full 90 minutes.

Lineup changes

This led to a major lineup shakeup. Jermaine Jones moved from midfield to central defense. Kevin Alston got his second consecutive start and London Woodberry earned his first start of 2015. Even with the lineup changes, the Revolution fought to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Union.

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Revs Attack Early

The Revs got the first action of the game, and it came from Lee Nguyen in the 4th minute. Nguyen got the ball about 20 yards out on a layoff from Charlie Davies, who was back in the starting lineup, and took a low roller. The shot pushed wide, but the Revs attack showed promise early.

The Revs kept attacking from the back when they got another good chance in the 9th minute. They saw London Woodberry make a nice cross into the middle where a charging Andy Dorman found the ball. His attempt sailed well high.

The best early chance came from the Union in the 16th minute on a shot that many can not believe stayed out of the net. Fernando Aristeguieta got behind the Revs back line and put a shot on frame from point-blank range. The shot deflected off of Bobby Shuttleworth’s foot and off the crossbar, but did not cross the line. 

After a long string of possession by both teams, the Union had another great chance in the 38th minute. Sebastien Le Toux sent a great free kick into the box where C.J. Sapong was waiting. Sapong was in great position, but was called offsides.

Union Take Lead

The Union finally broke through off a near-perfect free kick in the 42nd minute. The lead up to the goal was one the Revolution would like to have back. Raymon Gaddis had a hard tackle on Kelyn Rowe, and the Revs thought it should have been a yellow card. The referee did not blow the whistle, allowing Maurice Edu to launch the counter attack before being fouled by Jermaine Jones. The yellow card was awarded to Gaddis, but the Union had a great position for a free kick. Cristian Maidana took the free kick and delivered a beautiful ball to the right post and past Shuttleworth, giving Philadelphia a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal of the year for Maidana.

The goal snapped a string of 250 shutout minutes by the Revolution.

The goal brought the Union into the half with a 1-0 lead. The Revs held a 6-3 lead in shots, but Philadelphia had a 2-0 lead in shots on frame. The Revs had a 53.2%-46.8% advantage in possession, but built that lead early in the half.

The Union got action started in the 2nd half on a corner kick. The corner was delivered in and C.J. Sapong was on the receiving end, but his header went wide of the net.

2nd Half Comeback 

The Revolution finally got their offense rolling, and it took the substitution of Teal Bunbury to get things moving. Bunbury dubbed in during the 61st minute, and was the key factor in the Revs first goal in the 64th minute. Bunbury made a great one-on-one move to free some space, then crossed a ball right to Charlie Davies for the goal. It was the first goal of the season for Davies and the first assist for Bunbury.

Bunbury continued his good play when he created another chance in the 67th minute. Bunbury got a nice layoff from Jermaine Jones, and took a shot from a difficult angle that missed just high of the net.

Less than 10 minutes later, Bunbury found the net to give the Revolution the lead. Bunbury made a smart run from about 40-yards out and was on the receiving end of a great cross from Diego Fagundez. Bunbury made a simple shot past the keeper and gave the Revs the 201 lead. It was the first goal for Bunbury and the first assist for Fagundez.

Holding on

The Union looked to counter quickly, getting a shot from distance from Maurice Edu that made Shuttleworth make a diving save.

Philadelphia would not go away, however. They came back with two attempts on frame in the 78th minute, but the Revs defense came up huge. The first chance came on a header from Aristeguieta, but Lee Nguyen cleared the ball off the line to prevent the goal.

The Revs could not clear the ball, and another chance came. This one came off the foot of Edu. Edu found the open net as well, but this time it was London Woodberry who cleared the ball off the line to prevent the goal. These two clearances proved to be the defining moments for the Revolution, as they got behind the ball and left Philadelphia with the 2-1 win.

With the win, the Revolution now have 11 points with a 3-2-2 record. They will be back in action on Saturday as they host Real Salt Lake at Gillette Stadium.

 

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