The New England Revolution won their fifth straight on Saturday night as they downed the Montreal Impact 2-1. The victory had a feeling of familiarity as the Revs fought back from a deficit to secure full points for the third straight match.
Jack McInerney, who has collected 10 career goals against New England, continued to be a nuisance as he helped produce the game’s inaugural goal in the 13th minute. After getting behind Andrew Farrell and the Revolution defense, McInerney played a simple square ball to Calum Mallace, who knocked it into the empty net.
“We hate giving up that (first) goal,” head coach Jay Heaps lamented. “We don’t want to do it and it happens and I think the reactions have been, “OK, we know we can come back.” I think before we all thought we could but, we weren’t positive. Now that we’ve done it a few times there’s that belief.”
The Revs found an equalizer ten minutes later when Kelyn Rowe collected a loose ball at the top of the box before firing a low shot past Troy Perkins. It was Rowe’s third goal in eight games and the 13th of his career.
The attacking barrage continued with Lee Nguyen grabbing the go-ahead goal in the 25th minute. The tally was the product of sharp passing as Daigo Kobayashi played the ball forward to Nguyen who used a cheeky back heel to find Jermaine Jones. Jones’ long hit was flicked on to Nguyen by Charlie Davies. Now in the box, Nguyen rounded the keeper and chipped in his team-leading 13th goal of the year.
“(Nguyen’s) special,” Heaps said. “Look what he did again. I think in terms of his game, in terms of seeing the game and understanding it right now, he’s reading it really well, playing really well, but he’s also creating and I think that’s why he’s so dangerous.”
The Impact lost a player in the 62nd minute when Krysztof Krol earned a second yellow card for a foul committed from behind on Rowe. Krol’s first card came in the 47th minute after he pushed Nguyen to the turf.
The Revs would have opportunities to add a third goal after gaining the man advantage. In the 64th minute, Nguyen almost got his second of the night but his shot was cleared off the line by a defender. Davies had a near post attempt in the 69th minute but Perkins pawed it away. The game would ultimately end 2-1.
Although the Revs will be happy to solidify third place in the Eastern Conference, they will also be concerned about the health of Jones. The star midfielder was forced to exit at halftime after taking a hard hit from Mallace.
Jones, who was seen in a walking boot after the game, downplayed the injury when talking to the media.
“I don’t think it’s too bad,” Jones commented. “I got hit so now we have to look at it day to day. It was swelling at halftime and I could feel a little bit of pressure on my feet and we didn’t want to take any risks, so I went out.”
The Revs return to action on September 20th when they visit the Columbus Crew for a 7:30 kickoff.
(image courtesy of Kari Heistad)
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