The New England Revolution struggled to get shots on the Columbus Crew goal all night. Revolution captain Steve Ralston wanted to rectify the situation with a minute left to play.
Collecting the ball on the right side of the penalty area, Ralston cut inside on his left foot and looked to get a shot on Crew 'keeper William Hesmer.
"It was crowded in there," Ralston said. "I faked the first shot to try to get a little space."
When Ralston faked, Ezra Hendrickson dove in and stomped on his foot. Penalty, said referee Richard Heron as he pointed to the spot.
Shalrie Joseph stepped up to the ball, looking to seal victory with an 89th-minute penalty kick. Instead, Hesmer dove to his left and parried the ball away.
"I opened up my body too early and showed him where I was going," Joseph said. "With me showing him where I was going, it made it easier for him."
When Hesmer made the save, Kheli Dube reacted first and poked the ball home to give the Revs a 1-0 victory.
"The goalie's made a great save," Nicol said. "He's struck it well enough and put it in the corner. I'd rather have it go in the back of the net, but Kheli Dube didn't switch off. He was ready for it when it happened and he put it in the back of the net."
The goal gave New England a victory its defensive efforts may have merited. Reis denied Alejandro Moreno in the first half and Eddie Gaven in the second, the latter with a diving one-handed saved. Moreno also rang the post in the second half as the Crew tried to translate their possession into goals.
"We didn't give up too many chances," Reis said. "I thought we played great defensively. When you come on the road and you get three points, you have to be pleased with it."
Much of the defensive solidity came from increased awareness in the wide channels. The Crew exploited the Revolution back three in the first half, using Robbie Rogers and Frankie Hejduk to get into the vacant space in the corners.
In the second half, the Revs pushed both of those players back as they sought to attack down the wings and assume more possession of the ball. The result, Reis said, made the Crew less potent.
"I think we bottled them up," Reis said. "They play with one up high and three underneath. With three in the back, it caused us a few problems. When one of those wide guys comes inside, Frankie and Ezra have a lot of space to come up and attack. We handled it really well. They didn't have too many chances."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
