who had played all of nine minutes in league play before the game -- hit for a wonder goal. Receiving the ball from Stammler, Altidore ran into space up the center of the park and beat Gaudette with a wicked rising drive from all of 30 yards.
Red Bulls head coach Bruce Arena made two changes to the team that lost 1-0 to the Revolution at midweek. Chris Henderson came back into the lineup for Joe Vide, and Youri Djorkaeff made his first start after missing two games to back spasms, coming in for the suspended Amado Guevara.
Here's Arena's team (4-3-1-2): Jon Conway - Marvell Wynne, Carlos Mendes, Jeff Parke, Seth Stammler - Chris Henderson (Joe Vide 81), Danny O'Rourke (Mike Magee 61), Dema Kovalenko - Youri Djorkaeff - John Wolyniec (Josmer Altidore 74), Edson Buddle. [Substitutes Not Used: Blake Camp, Taylor Graham, Steve Jolley, Tony Meola]
"It was a good win, at this point that's all we're concerned about, is getting three points," Arena said. "What can you say? At this point we just needed the three points. I'm not going to critique this a whole lot, we're going to put the three points down in the win column and move on and try and get ready for the next team. At this point, we're one point behind fourth place with a game in hand, so you can't complain."TEAM NEWS
Altidore was born in Newark, N.J., and his only previous league action was as an 81st-minute substitute against the Revolution on Sept. 9.
"Did I just realize that? I thought I was daydreaming for a second, honestly. But then I heard the crowd roar and thought, 'Oh, shoot. That was me!'" Altidore said. "I don't even know how to explain it, man. You sit on the bench and you pray for that once chance to get in but you never think that you would score the game-winning goal in a game like this, with the importance of it. It's just a great feeling."
Arena was planning on using Altidore at some point, but with Wolyniec needing medical attention, his insertion into the game was accelerated. "We weren't going to spend five minutes on stitching him up or getting him right in a game where there weren't going to be too many chances," Arena said. "We have to take advantage of that extra player."
After scoring the biggest goal of his life, his first as a professional, Altidore went back on the field to play 90 minutes in a reserve league match.
"He doesn't look like he's 16 years old, we may need to do a bone scan on this kid," Arena joked. "We'll continue to move him along. The way our team goes, with all the injuries and suspensions, he's going to get on the field a little bit more. He's 16, he's got a way to go. We'll just see."
It was just the second victory for Arena in charge of the Red Bulls. Both have come when the opponents have had a player sent off - the first came with a 6-0 victory against Real Salt Lake at the Meadowlands when the visitors were reduced to 10 men after just eight minutes.
"All the calls tonight were a mystery to me, I can't even follow it anymore, but I think some of the cards were pretty harsh against the Columbus side. I think the one with Wolyniec was just a foul. I think with the World Cup and games like tonight it seems to be where referees get on the field and they're given a message on how to referee," Arena said. "I thought it was unfair, but having said that, we are going to take it. We missed a penalty kick, the goalkeeper moved, but fair enough."
Carlos Mendes was given the captain's armband for the match by Arena. However, he will miss the Revolution match through suspension. "I just think he's been a steady performer since I've been here. He shows up every day in training, he's well respected by his teammates, he's been in the trenches all year, he's been in basically every game, he's been a real warrior for the team this year. I think he's worthy of wearing a captain's armband," Arena said. "... I have no clue (how he will be replaced) -- I'm sure we'll have about six injuries between now and then. It just goes on and on, I can't keep track of it anymore, it just never stops."NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution return to action after having the weekend off, their last match a 1-1 draw at home with D.C. United last Wednesday. The Revolutuon have now not lost in three games and have 35 points from 27 matches, trailing the second-place Chicago Fire by six points in the Eastern Conference and lead fourth-place Kansas City by just two points, the fifth-place Red Bulls by just three.
LAST MATCH
The Revolution had come out of a six-game unbeaten streak in third place in the East with two victories in their last three games, while United had won just once since July 15.
After Ben Olsen and Josh Gros had efforts cleared off the line by Joe Franchino and Michael Parkhurst respectively, United deservedly took the lead in the 25th minute when Revolution 'keeper Matt Reis failed to hold a snap shot from Freddy Adu from the right corner of the area, and Gros slipped in to tap home the rebound.
But the Revolution pulled level 11 minutes after the break. Facundo Erpen's mis-hit clearance was headed back toward goal by Franchino, whose header found Taylor Twellman, and he then headed across goal where Clint Dempsey came in at the back post to smash home a volley for the equalizer.
Just as the Revolution weathered the first half storm, United survived one in the second, and though the teams ended up sharing the points, it was enough to ensure the Black-and-Red would secure home-field advantage for the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Revolution boss Steve Nicol made one change to the team that defeated the Red Bulls four days earlier at Gillette Stadium. With Pat Noonan out, Jeff Larentowicz came back into the midfield, Andy Dorman moving in behind the front two and Clint Dempsey partnering Taylor Twellman in attack.
Here's Nicol's team (3-4-1-2): Matt Reis - Jay Heaps, Michael Parkhurst, Avery John - Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz, Joe Franchino (Khano Smith 73) - Andy Dorman - Clint Dempsey, Taylor Twellman. [Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Brown, Jose Cancela, Miguel Gonzalez, Tony Lochhead, James Riley, Doug Warren]
"This halftime was the longest I've spoken since I came here. In every department you want to look at, they were better than us in the first half, so we had a lot to cover. But I think in the second half we came out, we rattled the cage and we got better as the game wore on," Nicol said. "... I think we had a couple of chances, you know, they had a couple of chances, as well. I think probably a draw is a fair result.TEAM NEWS
After two consecutive shutouts, the Revolution conceded the first goal and were fortunate to only be down one at the interval. "We were just slow in the head in the first half," Nicol said. "We spent the first half reacting to things instead of reading it or making it happen. At this level you have to make it happen. Obviously, we would have liked to win the game. But we got the response we were looking for in the second half and we looked more likely to win the game."
Said Shalrie Joseph: "We were a little slow out of the box. We should not be outplayed at home and [Nicol] had all the reason to be upset. They were doing what they wanted and we can't let teams come in here and do that. But we started moving the ball and defending and competing. We realized how big this game is. And in the second half, we didn't give an inch."
With Pat Noonan out injured Wednesday, Dempsey lined up as an out-and-out striker alongside Twellman and took a little time to get into the game on a consistent basis. However, when the U.S. international was given space, he was a threat to United.
"In the second half we did a better job of stretching them, which created more space and opened up more gaps," said Dempsey. "That created more chances for me. In the first half I was just a second too late to get on those crosses. I was either barely getting a flick on it or it was just ahead of me. So, I'm adjusting, and if you want to play at the highest level, you have to play at different positions. I'm trying to work on every aspect of my game."
Avery John started his second consecutive game at left back, and again saw the Revolution grab at least a point. His season has been interrupted on several occasions by international duty which has left him out of a place upon returning, but the Revs have yet to lose when he is in the first team this year (six starts in all).
"First of all, Parkhurst's stop on the line, that was big," John said to the Boston Herald. "The last thing you want is for D.C. to go up 2-0 and then you're chasing the game. I think Parky, myself and Heapsie, right now, we try to defend with our life. I think everybody right now is saying make sure we defend properly. ... Right now, we have to be professional and it's coming to the playoffs. The first half we started out very sloppy and I think the second half we came out and we were a lot quicker to the ball. We did a very good job."
On Friday, the Revolution announced the signing of former Mexican international striker Jose Manuel Abundis, along with one-time Ivory Coast U-20 international Arsene Oka. Abundis, 33, was signed after failing to come to terms with Deportivo Toluca of the Mexican Primera Division. He joined Toluca in 1992 and spent 10 years with them, also playing for Monterrey, Pachuca and Atlante, before returning to Toluca in 2004, and has 92 goals in 301 Mexican top-flight games. He also had 10 goals as a full international.
