Revs Home Opener Ends In 0-0 Draw

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Matt LaPan, Go Local Sports Reporter

The New England Revolution returned home to Gillette Stadium after starting their season with two games on the road. Despite winter weather early in the day, the sun came out for the Revs to take the field. Despite the sunny weather, the Revolution could not notch their first goal of 2015 against the Montreal Impact. The Revs and Impact ended a physical game in a 0-0 draw, giving the Revs their first point of the 2015 season.

Early Action

Montreal got action started in the 5th minute following a good run from Dominic Oduro. He made a run on Chris Tierney before attempting a cross that found its way on net and forced Bobby Shuttleworth to react and push the ball out.

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The Revs had some fleeting chances before the Impact got another shot on target in the 11th minute. The play was set up by a foul deep in the Revs territory that gave Maxim Tissot a free kick. The free kick went in to Laurent Ciman who put a header on frame, but Shuttleworth was in perfect position for a save.

Despite being in control of the attack, Montreal suffered a huge blow in the 19th minute. The Impact lost forward Cameron Porter, a bright young star in MLS, to a nasty looking knee injury.

Fagundez Gets Revs Offense Going

The Revs finally got their first good attempt in the 27th minute. The run of play saw Lee Nguyen play a ball to Juan Agudelo who crossed a ball to Diego Fagundez. Fagundez blasted a shot but it sailed well high of the net. Fagundez got another attempt less than one minute later, this one finding the target. Fagundez left it on the turf, however, and it was an easy save for Evan Bush.

After the teams traded possessions, Montreal nearly struck in the 44th minute. Oduro was again the catalyst as he made a good move to get free and ripped a shot on an open net. His attempt was for an open far post but he missed the goal and New England got the goal kick. 

The Revs came back just moments later with a quick Kelyn Rowe shot, but again it was an easy save for Bush. That brought the teams into the half even at 0-0. The Revolution were out-possessed by Montreal 52.1% to 47.9%, but did have a 5-4 advantage in shots and a 2-1 advantage in shots on target.

Slow 2nd Half

After both teams struggled to get anything going through the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, the Impact finally got on the attack. The play was set up on a nice counter attack by Nigel Reo-Coker. Off the counter, Tissot was set up for a hard shot on frame but Shuttleworth made the save to end the threat.

The Revs caught a break in the 61st minute when Hassoun Camara pulled down Juan Agudelo from behind, earning a yellow card. It was the second yellow of the game and he was shown a red card, meaning the Revolution would play up a man for the final 29 minutes.

Nguyen's Chance

The Revs finally got their first shot on target in the 2nd half when Lee Nguyen hammered a shot in the 69th minute. Nguyen got the ball from Scott Caldwell in the open field and unleashed a knuckling shot from about 30-yards out. Unfortunately the shot was right on Bush for the easy save.

The Revs continued to attack in the 72nd minute when they nearly found the first goal of the game. Chris Tierney delivered a perfect cross into the box where Lee Nguyen was waiting. Despite the cross being put right on Nguyen, his header soared over the net from point-blank range.

Great Late Chances

The Revs came close to finding the net in the 90th minute off a great corner kick from Tierney. The ball found its way into the box where Andrew Farrell tried to make a turn on it, but his shot got caught up in traffic before being cleared.

The Revs got their final chance of the game late in stoppage time on a free kick form Chris Tierney, but it was an easy save for Bush. After the shot, the game ended in a 0-0 tie. The draw moved the Revs to 0-2-1 on the season, giving them their first point of the year. The Revs will be back on the Gillette Stadium turf next Saturday when they host San Jose at 3 PM. 

The Revolution have now started the season without scoring a goal in their first three games.

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Related Slideshow: New England Revolution vs. Montreal Impact - 3/21/2015

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