It’s all just a little bit of history repeated, sort of.
The New England Revolution squared off against the New England Revolution on Saturday night in a game that was eerily close to their first meeting of the year. For the second time this season, the Revs conceded an early goal to Quincy Amarikwa and would have a chance to equalize through a penalty kick. Unlike last time, the Revolution missed their PK, allowing the Fire to capture full points.
The eventually game-winner came in the third minute after AJ Soares’ clearance found the foot of Jeff Larentowicz. The former Revolution player quickly found Mike Magee, who pushed the ball forward to Amarikwa. Amarikwa fought off Andrew Farrell to score his sixth goal of the year.
“It’s tough to get scored on in the first three minutes,” Farrell commented. “Our back line gave up some sloppy goals, and we need to stop that.”
Harry Shipp played instigator in the 14th minute when he marched towards the net without much of an interruption. The rookie fired a shot from just outside the penalty box but Bobby Shuttleworth was there to make the big save. The subsequent corner kick provided Lovell Palmer with a chance, but the defender hit it over the net.
Teal Bunbury offered the Revs their first shot on goal in the 20th minute. The opportunity was presented by Chris Tierney, who found Bunbury as Patrick Mullins made a decoy run. The ensuing shot was not enough to beat Sean Johnson.
The Revs were forced to make a change after Andy Dorman collided with Bakary Soumare in the 25th minute. The Chicago defender dangerously charged through the ball in a play that probably should have warranted a card. Scott Caldwell entered for Dorman, who sustained a right knee injury.
“I thought Scottie did a great job,” head coach Jay Heaps praised after the game. “Scottie came in and had no warm-up time and went in and really was chomping and biting and trying to make plays.”
Fagundez delivered an enticing cross in the 35th minute following his take down of Soares’ long ball. The cross came from the right flank and sailed past Bunbury before being hit out of bounds by Daigo Kobayashi.
With the Fire bunkering more during the second half, the Revs relied on flank play and set pieces to generate chances. Tierney used his potent left foot to test Johnson with a free kick in the 60th minute. The Massachusetts native put his shot on goal, but wasn’t able to equalize.
Moments later, the Revs used a series of sharp passes to create an opportunity. The ball seamlessly moved from Bunbury to Kobayashi to Fagundez before eventually getting to Rowe. Rowe put in a shot, but the game remained 1-0.
The Fire should have added a second goal in the 79th minute when Soares fell to the ground, leaving substitute Matt Fondy alone on goal. Shuttleworth did well to hold his ground and prevent the newly acquired player from scoring his first career goal.
The Revs had a prime opportunity to bring the game level when the referee pointed to the spot in the 85th minute after Jerry Bengtson was pushed over by Gonzalo Segares. With Lee Nguyen suspended, Tierney stepped up to take the kick. Johnson stopped the shot, but the ball still had life as it bounced off post. It would never cross the line, however, as Johnson recovered to smoother it.
“We have a penalty kick in the 85th minute and I thought it was well deserved,” Heaps said. “I thought we were trying and we were doing everything we could, but sometimes we’ve just got to make our stamp on the game.”
The game would end 1-0, extending the Revolution’s losing streak to five straight. The team will now head on the road with fixtures against the LA Galaxy and FC Dallas.
(Image courtesy of Kari Heistad)
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