And while he got his wish, Revs’ supporters got their
long-awaited wish, too.
Thanks to a nifty Juan Agudelo goal in the 28th
minute, the Revolution laid claim to their first MLS playoff berth in four
years with a 1-0 win over the Crew in Columbus.
Sunday’s win came about as an ugly advert for the game of
soccer. There was little in the way of possession, with looping 50-50 balls
that slowed the pace. While New England looked disjointed in attack, Columbus
had a majority of the possession when anyone had it, and came out on the front
foot.
But New England, which needed the victory after Houston beat
D.C. United, 2-1, in the early contest to claim its own playoff spot, got the
goal it needed, and did it against the run of play to boot. Agudelo’s cheeky
back heel to Lee Nguyen saw the ball come right back to him with a one-touch
pass, and the Stoke City-bound striker slotted home with the match’s lone goal.
In the latter stages, Columbus kept the pressure on Revs
goalkeeper Matt Reis, who came up with several big stops during second-half stoppage
time to keep the Crew out of the net.
Less than an hour later, New England found out that it would
play U.S. International Graham Zusi and Sporting Kansas City in the first round
of the playoffs after the New York Red Bulls claimed the Supporters’ Shield
with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Fire. In two prior meetings, Sporting won both—but
at the time, the Revs didn’t have Agudelo. That game will be at Gillette Stadium this Saturday at a time TBA. With UMass hosting Northern Illinois in football that afternoon, the Revs-SKC match will more than likely be an evening affair.
Eastern Conference Top Five
1. New York
2. Sporting Kansas City
3. NEW ENGLAND
4. Houston
5. Montreal
No comments:
Post a Comment