Heading into Friday’s match, the New England Revolution had never won at Sporting Park and had only scored one goal. After 90 minutes, both of those stats changed as the Revs are now 1-2-2 when visiting Sporting KC after recording a 3-2 victory to capture second place in the Eastern Conference.
The Revolution were rolling in the first half with goals from Keyln Rowe and Jose Goncalves. Rowe’s goal came in the 22nd minute when he made a far post run to tap in a cross from Kevin Alston. It was Rowe’s fifth goal of the year and Alston’s second assist.
Thirteen minutes later, Goncalves pushed forward in a solo effort before slotting the ball past Eric Kronberg. The tally, which was Goncalves’ first of the year, occurred because the captain was virtually unchallenged despite the presence of Matt Besler.
The tides changed in the second half as Sporting KC scored consecutive goals within two minutes. The first came in the 54th minute when Paulo Nagamura finished a Kevin Ellis pass. Nagmura would soon play setup man as he headed the ball towards Dom Dwyer, who scored his 20th of the season.
With a heroic effort needed to capture full points, it was Designated Player Jermaine Jones that would score the game-winner. In the 85th minute, the midfielder collected a pass from Lee Nguyen before putting a long-range drive into the back of the net.
The late goal sealed the victory for the Revs, who have now jumped Sporting KC in the Eastern Conference standings. Although this is the final regular season meeting between the two teams this year, the Revolution could meet Sporting in the playoffs. Before then, however, the Revs will welcome the Columbus Crew to Gillette Stadium on October 4th.
(image courtesy of Kari Heistad)
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