San Jose Earthquakes defender James Riley probably did not envision this kind of return to New England. His former team scored twice in the opening 23 minutes to seal a 2-0 victory at Gillette Stadium Saturday night.
Kheli Dube scored after six minutes to mark his first start with his first MLS goal before Riley, who played three seasons for the Revolution before San Jose selected him in the expansion draft last winter, headed inexplicably over Quakes 'keeper Joe Cannon from 18 yards to give his former team an unassailable two-goal lead.
New England earned its second consecutive victory with brisk ball movement in midfield and incisive wing play, forcing San Jose back for much of the first half and limiting the Quakes' chances to two wayward shots towards goal and one jarring effort off the crossbar from Ramiro Corrales. The victory marked the Revs' first win against San Jose since July 22, 2000.
For the Revolution, Taylor Twellman missed out with an ankle injury after scoring in last weekend's 2-1 victory at Chivas USA. Dube made his first career start with Adam Cristman again consigned to the bench. Mauricio Castro earned the start on the left wing with Khano Smith left out of the lineup.
Peguero Jean Philippe didn't make the trip for the Earthquakes after aggravating a knee injury. Ned Grabavoy slid onto the forward line to partner Kei Kamara with Joe Vide joining Ramiro Corrales in the twin-defensive midfield pairing at the crux of Frank Yallop's 4-4-2.
San Jose's defensive deportment came under pressure from the opening whistle as the Revolution surged forward in search of the goal to open up the game. Early wide distribution utilized the Revolution's strength in numbers, with Castro sounding a warning with his drive into Joe Cannon's stomach after four minutes.
Cannon wouldn't be able to stop the opener two minutes later. San Jose could feel aggrieved about the innocuous foul call on Ramiro Corrales on the sideline, but the slack defending that allowed Dube to thump home his first career goal at the far post also deserves scrutiny. Steve Ralston's cross curled into the box and the faintest of touches off the bottom of Shalrie Joseph's shoe set up Dube's cool finish.
New England continued to assert its dominance soon afterwards, pinging the ball around midfield and rotating the play from wing to wing without allowing San Jose much time on the ball.
The second goal loomed, and it arrived after 23 minutes from former Revolution defender Riley's head. Jeff Larentowicz humped the ball forward towards the Quakes penalty area. The Quakes defense let the ball bounce and the communication between Cannon and Riley broke down as Riley overcooked his header and looped it over Cannon into the vacant frame.
Yallop shifted Riley onto the right wing as his team shifted into a 3-5-2 in an attempt to get more possession in the offensive third, but aside from a Corrales free kick thumped into the wall, the Quakes couldn't find a way into the contest.
But Jason Hernandez prevented the damage from worsening 10 minutes before the break with a sliding intervention as Steve Ralston prepared to shoot inside the penalty area.
The Quakes sent on Ryan Johnson at the start of the second half as they searched for a way back into the contest. New England invited them into the offensive half and the Quakes responded with their best spell in the half's opening stages.
Yet even that spell didn't yield a shot on target, with Kei Kamara's blocked shot the closest effort toward the frame for the Quakes.
The Revs sent on Sainey Nyassi to spark the offense and the young Gambian responded by creating chances. His long-range drive forced a smart save from Cannon at the near post before Kenny Mansally couldn't send turn the resulting rebound home. Nyassi later whistled a shot just past the far post.
Cries rang out for handball on 73 minutes as a service from the left wing bounced in the area and whacked Revolution defender Chris Albright in the arm, but play continued uneventfully until Ramiro Corrales rang the crossbar shortly before the match entered stoppage time. It was the closest San Jose would come to a goal before New England sealed the victory.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
