Revolution Unbeaten In Seven-Straight, Win 2-1 Over New York

Saturday, May 02, 2015

Matt LaPan, Go Local Sports Reporter

 

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Charlie Davies was a key factor in the Revs taking the 2-1 decision over New York

On one of the biggest sports weekend’s of the year, Major League Soccer got a rematch of the 2014 Eastern Conference Championship at Gillette Stadium. The New England Revolution entered the game on a six-game unbeaten run and welcomed Eastern Conference rival the New York Red Bulls in on a seven-game unbeaten run to start the season. It was a chance for the teams to get an early lead in the Eastern conference standings, and the 

Early Lead

It did not take the Revs long to get on the board as Charlie Davies continued to be a thorn in the side of the Red Bulls in the 9th minute. The play was set up by London Woodberry, who delivered a perfect cross to Davies head. Davies put force behind his header and gave the Revolution the early 1-0 lead. The goal was the 3rd of the season for Davies while the assist was the first of Woodberry’s career.

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"That's my goal each game," Woodberry said when asked about his assist following the match. Get on the score sheet, whether it's a goal or an assist. Today, luckily, Charlie got on the end of one and helped us get the win."

The Revs had another chance from Davies, this time in the 21st minute. Davies was sprung off a nice tackle from Juan Agudelo. He turned and got into the box, but the Red Bulls back line collapsed around him to end the threat.

The Red Bulls finally mounted their first attack in the 38th minute, but the New England defense closed the door. Mike Grella got the ball in the box with Chris Tierney on his back. He tried to get a shot off, but Andrew Farrell was in great position and blocked the shot. He then made a nice clearance off a quick tackle.

Grella came right back moments later for another attempt. The ball was crossed in and off of a New York teammate. Grella put a strong shot on with his left foot, but it sailed well high of the net.

The Revolution took the lead into halftime, but the goal was their lone shot on target. The Red Bulls managed just one shot on target as well, but held a 59.9%-40.1% possession advantage.

The Revs got the first good chance of the 2nd half in the 54th minute, but Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles shut the door on them. The run of play saw Kelyn Rowe lay a nice header down to Teal Bunbury. Bunbury attempted to cross the ball back into Rowe, but Robles came off his line to dive on top of the ball just before it reached Rowe’s foot.

True Team Goal

The Revs got back on the board in the 61st minute, this time off the foot of Teal Bunbury. The run of play leading to the goal was near-perfect teamwork from the Revolution. After a Scott Caldwell interception in the midfield, the ball went to Lee Nguyen and then up to Charlie Davies. After losing the ball momentarily, Davies regained control and sent the ball in deep to Juan Agudelo. Agudelo sent the ball back out to Nguyen, he sent it along to Scott Caldwell. He then found Bunbury on the right side of the attack where he buried the goal. It was the second goal of the season for Bunbury. Although the team passing was superb on the play, the assists could only go to two players — Caldwell and Nguyen. It was the 2nd assist of the year for both Caldwell and Nguyen.

The Revs had another golden opportunity to score in the 70th minute when Charlie Davies broke away from the pack and went flying down the field, unmarked. He ended up with a shot that went wide of the net, but the effort of Kemar Lawrence was the big factor. His run back on defense affected the shot and kept the score 2-0, New England.

“It was a lot of good play,” Revolution coach Jay Heaps said when asked about the run up to the goal. “I thought we pushed hard, we did a lot of nice little things and we made those angled passes. Teal did a good job of staying wide. So when Scotty [Caldwell] and Lee [Nguyen] were able to combine, Teal was in the perfect spot and the ball went right to him.”

The Red Bulls came back with a nice opportunity off the head of Bradley Wright-Phillips. He received the cross and put a chance on frame, but Bobby Shuttleworth was in great position for the save.

Red Bulls Goal

New York finally found their first goal in the 74th minute on a defensive breakdown from the Revolution. The play was set up by a nice header from Grella to Sacha Kljestan. Kljestan made a run through the Revs defense and took one touch to get past Shuttleworth before burying the ball in the open net. The goal brought the score back within a goal at 2-1, New England.

Following the goal, Jay Heaps went to his bench to bring in Jose Goncalves for Andy Dorman. Goncalves moved into his natural center back role while Jermaine Jones moved to his natural midfield position. Jones has been playing center back while Goncalves has been out injured.

Late Dramatics

Just minutes later New York had a great chance at the equalizer off the head of Wright-Phillips. He had a nice attempt, but it sailed well high of the net.

The Red Bulls had another great chance at the equalizer in the 88th minute, but Bobby Shuttleworth made a terrific save to keep the Revs in the lead. After sustained pressure from New York, Felipe left off a left-footed shot that forced Shuttleworth to make an amazing diving save to his left. He got a fingertip on the save to knock it down before scrambling to dive on top of it and end the threat.

The Revs locked down on defense through four minutes of stoppage time, getting the 2-1 win. The Revs handed the Red Bulls their first loss of the season and moved to 5-2-2 on the season. The win gave the Revs a seven-game unbeaten run.

 

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