The New England Revolution completed a disappointing homestand with the right kind of flourish, an emphatic victory on Saturday night.
Andy Dorman scored twice to give Steve Nicol's side a 3-0 victory against Toronto FC and snap a three-match winless streak at Gillette Stadium. The homestand concluded with the Eastern Conference leaders garnering five points (1-1-2) from a possible 12.
Nicol was pleased to get a win to break the winless streak, although he thought the final scoreline flattered his team.
"It's good to get a win at home," Nicol said. "I think we deserved it. I think 3-0 flatters us a wee bit. I think if you look at 3-nil on paper it looks like an easy win, but it wasn't easy."
Dorman said it was nice for his side to get back to its winning ways after disappointing home draws with Real Salt Lake and Columbus.
"It feels really good to get the win," Dorman said. "The last few matches we should have gotten three points but we've slipped up. We have been scoring goals but we've had a few lapses and lost the result. But today, the defense was brilliant and when that happens it's tough to lose."
The defense was a topic of discussion this week as New England had leaked seven goals in its past three contests and Revs head coach Nicol expressed his displeasure with his team's performance at the back this week.
But with a shutout in which Toronto FC created pressure but few clear-cut scoring chances now in the books, it appears the short-lived defensive crisis is put to bed.
Nicol was particularly pleased with how his defense finished out the contest after allowing an 85th-minute equalizer to the Crew's Alejandro Moreno a week ago to give away two points.
"They put us under a lot of pressure in the second half, but we're talking about closing games out," Nicol said. "It was important in the second half, particularly, that we didn't go gung-ho and charge forward and leave holes and then we lose a goal. And I think we did that."
Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis stopped six shots in the victory and said that his team's defensive display had improved markedly against TFC.
"The last couple of games we've been disjointed and have been all over the place, but today we were compact and our spacing was very good," Reis said. "It was definitely back to how we had been defending all year before these past results. I think everyone in the back took it upon themselves to get the job done."
Part of the improvement came with a renewed effort to physical combat. Toronto FC picked up four cautions and imposed a rugged style of soccer on the contest, but the home side rose to the challenge and stepped up its physical play on its way to a much-needed victory.
"We knew it was going to be a physical game," Dorman said. "Toronto has some big, physical forwards and they are a physical team to play against, but we were able to battle with them and matched them in that department."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
