The New England Revolution returned to the playoffs in notable fashion by earning a 2-1 result over Sporting KC in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After a drab first half in which the Revs recorded no shots on targets, the home team received goals from Andy Dorman and Kelyn Rowe in the 55th and 67th minute, respectively. Two minutes after Rowe’s goal, Aurelien Collin redirected CJ Sapong’s back-heel to prevent the shutout.
The Revs struggled in the first half with Sporting winning 58% of the duels, holding 56% of the possession and making a total of five attempts on goal. The visitors nearly got on the board in the 18th minute when Graham Zusi sent in a picturesque corner that was headed towards the net by Chance Myers. Myers would've had his first ever postseason goal if it wasn’t for the heroics of Lee Nguyen, who used his chest to keep the game scoreless.
“Some games we put two players on the post, sometimes we put one player on the post,” head coach Jay Heaps enlightened. “But tonight we made the right call and put two players on the post.”
Sporting threatened the Revolution net again in the 34th minute when Zusi’s long ball found a streaking Teal Bunbury. The Canadian-born player took a touch before firing the ball into the gloves of Matt Reis.
Sporting would rue the missed opportunities as the Revs were able to break the deadlock in the second half. The first goal started when Rowe sent in a long ball that was headed wide by Juan Agudelo. Nguyen was there to collect the ball and put in a shot. Although Jimmy Nielsen made the save, he let up a rebound that ricocheted off Agudelo to afford Dorman the tap in.
Kelyn Rowe doubled the lead in 67th minute when he finished Nguyen’s feed. Agudelo once again played an important role in the buildup. After playing the ball to Nguyen, the future Stoke player made a run towards the center of the goal which opened up a lane for Rowe. Revolution fans will hope that the goal will be a step in igniting Rowe’s Open Cup form.
“I don’t know what it is, man,” Rowe hypothesized. “Maybe I just get up for tournament games? I don’t know what it is. I’m lucky to get the goal and happy to help.”
The Revs hardly had time to celebrate as Sporting was able to get one back in the 69th minute. Sporting delivered a deep ball which bounced around the 18 before eventually falling to Collin. The veteran defender simply poked the ball past Reis to give Sporting an important first leg goal.
“It’s a big goal for us to lessen the gap,” head coach Peter Vermes commented. “It’s good. You don’t always necessarily know if you’re always going to win when you go away from home, but to keep the score line the way we did is great.”
The visitors nearly equalized in the game’s dying minutes when Jose Goncalves misplayed a long ball. The second ball was won by Sporting KC which allowed Dom Dwyer to hit a powerful shot on frame. For the second time that game, Reis was there to make the important stop and keep the result favorable for the home side.
Heaps explained, “It’s a long ball, bounces around and we have enough guys around it, but it seems to bounce to their guy, who makes a great move – Dom Dwyer does – great hit and Matt Reis, his reflexes are pretty amazing. I don’t think there’s been a better goalie in the league that has reflexes like that.”
Although the Revs are happy to be entering Sporting Park with a one-goal advantage, they know that there is still work to be done.
“In this series, it’s like we’re at halftime,” Reis remarked. “So we are up 2-1 at halftime and the more goals we have, the more pressure we can put on them.”
3 Observations
1. The Revs need to do a better job clearing the ball. Although aesthetically unpleasant, Sporting KC did find some success with playing the long ball. Collin’s goal and Dwyer’s should-have-been goal were both created from deep. The Revs, who have been punished a few times because of their failure to properly clear the ball, were fortunate to only concede one goal on Saturday. If they want to advance in the playoffs, the team will need to improve their capacity to win second balls and properly usher the ball out of danger.
2. The often mentioned depth is a reality. There are a lot of clichés in coaching: losses eternally come on unfortunate days, you must always go one game at a time and the depth on the team is perpetually impressive. Heaps has moved beyond the cliché by creating a team with competition at every position. Heaps has aptly dealt the disappointment of expensive players and the unpredictability of injuries. On Saturday, Heaps looked to Darrius Barnes to fill in as left back with Chris Tierney and Kevin Alston unavailable. Barnes likely won’t retain the spot unless injury woes continue but he did perform admirably.
3. A healthy mix of youth and veterans. The Revolution youth has been highly touted throughout the season but it’s no surprise that the veterans have provided some great moments in the late portion of the season. Reis has turned back the clock with at least one awe-inspiring save per match. Dorman has emerged as the wily, strong midfielder that most hoped Kalifa Cisse would be. Nguyen has rebounded from a quiet first half of the year to be one of the squad’s most valuable players. Rowe, Agudelo and Andrew Farrell are still contributing important minutes but there’s no denying that the veterans are holding their own.
(image courtesy of Kari Heistad)
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