It was a good weekend for the New England Revolution as they followed Saturday’s 1-0 win over Chivas USA with the news that Jermaine Jones will soon be joining the team.
The victory came courtesy of a Lee Nguyen goal in the 56th minute. The play was initiated by Kelyn Rowe, who played a give-and-go with Daigo Kobayashi before moving the ball to Nguyen. The midfielder then delivered a curling shot that sailed into the upper left corner. The goal was Nguyen’s team-leading ninth of the season.
The three points were well-deserved as the Revs dominated the stat sheet. Not only did they outshot the visitors 9-6, but they also held 65.4% of the possession and completed 82.3% of their passes.
The Goats did have a number of solid opportunities, however. In the 64th minute, Felix Borja beat an offside trap and barreled down on Bobby Shuttleworth. The netminder held his ground and pushed the shot away from danger. Shuttleworth was called into action again in the 72nd minute when he stopped a header from Erik Torres. In total, Shuttleworth made four saves.
Collecting three points helped keep the Revs in the playoff picture as they currently sit one point away from fifth place with 30 accumulated points.
The Revolution will hope that the addition of Jones will improve their chances of playing postseason soccer for the second straight year. During halftime of Sunday’s Timbers-Sounders game, it was announced that Jones would join the Revs via a blind draw conducted by Major League Soccer.
Jones became a highly sought after player following the World Cup, a tournament in which he played four full games donning the colors of the United States. The two most vocal parties interested in the midfielder’s services were the Revolution and the Chicago Fire.
Revolution investor/operator Jonathan Kraft said the following in regards to the Jones acquisition: “This is a great opportunity for us to add one of the best players in the United States to our club. We thought Jermaine was the best player for the U.S. in the World Cup and we are excited to welcome him to New England.”
Jones also expressed enthusiasm in regards to the deal, saying, “I’m very excited to come to MLS and join the Revolution. New England is an exciting team on the rise, and I believe I can come in and help the team make a push toward MLS Cup.”
Jones will be unveiled to the media on Tuesday while the Revs return to action on Saturday when they travel to Toronto for a 5 pm kickoff.
(Image courtesy of MLSSoccer.com)
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