The New England Revolution and Houston Dynamo together again, thanks to Shalrie Joseph.
Joseph's powerful diving header in the 30th minute gave the Revs the cushion they would need to advance to the SuperLiga 2008 final with a 1-0 victory Wednesday against Mexico's Atlante FC at Gillette Stadium. With the victory, New England advances to face Houston in Foxborough next week, after the Dynamo defeated Pachuca CF 2-0 on Tuesday.
It was no more than the Revs deserved, limiting Atlante to half-chances and looking consistently dangerous on the break. The win extended the Revs' unbeaten streak to eight games in all competitions since losing to Real Salt Lake on June 21.
Jeff Larentowicz replaced Michael Parkhurst in the center of the Revolution's four-man backline with Parkhurst away on Olympic duty. Mauricio Castro earned the start on the left of midfield after shaking off a groin injury. Taylor Twellman was named amongst the substitutes.
Atlante named 10 of the 11 players that played in Saturday's 2-1 season-opening win against Toluca in its starting lineup. Gabriel Pererya dropped out of the side as Daniel Arreola took his place in midfield. Luis Gabriel Rey partnered Giancarlo Maldonado up top. Maldonado looked to maintain his perfect goalscoring record at Gillette Stadium after scoring for Venezuela in its 2-0 victory over Brazil on June 6.
Both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances at the outset, but displayed a willingness to go forward in search of goals. Kheli Dube probably should have done better with Mauricio Castro's inswinging cross, but he blasted over the bar. Matt Reis had to be attentive off his line to cut out a dangerous cross with an Atlante forward waiting to slam an effort towards goal.
Things picked up after 20 minutes and the home side generally looked on top. As a harbinger of things to come, Joseph directed a header over the bar after he latched on to a Castro free kick. Dube did even better shortly thereafter, turning Kenny Mansally's service off the bar.
Not to be outdone, Atlante created its first chance from a corner kick, but Reis collected Gerardo Espinoza's one-bounce header off the turf.
New England converted its advantage into the game's first goal, though not without some carping from the visitors. Javier Munoz Mustafa gave away a cheap foul 40 yards from goal by climbing over the top of Mansally in an attempt to head the ball clear. Steve Ralston didn't ask for a second opinion; he curled his effort to the back stick for Joseph to slam home his diving header off the underside of the crossbar to give the Revs the lead.
Atlante tried to respond and looked to press forward with more intent and quality, but it was the Revs who nearly added a second before the break. Chris Albright played a clever one-two with Kheli Dube to gain entrance into the penalty area, but the finish lacked and goalkeeper Federico Vilar easily collected.
The intensity ratcheted up as the match entered the second half. Arreola's decision to head to goal while Joseph was prone on the turf didn't help matters. Once Arreola let the ball dribble out over the end line, Revolution players swarmed around him, demanding to know why he continued to play when courtesy mandated that he stopped.
The higher tempo benefited Atlante. Sustained pressure in the Revolution end yielded few chances and many Revolution clearances, none more vital than Sainey Nyassi's track back to clear a pending chance from inside 15 yards after Atlante tore apart the left side of the Revolution midfield.
Mansally should have put the match beyond reach for the visitors in the 62nd minute. Amaechi Igwe's long diagonal clearance found Dube heading towards the corner. Dube wriggled free from his defender, drove to the byeline and cut back for Mansally. The finish wasn't nearly as good as the buildup as Mansally blasted his effort towards the back of the supporters' section.
Reis alertly rushed off his line to punch away the ball from Munoz Mustafa's feet as he shaped to shoot from 10 yards away.
But the match would descend into temporary chaos after Ralston won a free kick after nicking the ball off an unsuspecting Alan Zamora. As he went to strike the free kick, the whistle blew after Rey appeared to strike Joseph in the stomach. Out came the red card for Rey as the two teams congregated on the edge of the penalty area.
Atlante continued to press, but all hope faded for the Mexicans once Zamora slid through the back of Joseph in stoppage time to earn his second booking and another ejection.
After the final whistle, the contest degenerated into ugly scenes as both benches emptied onto the field and the protagonists flew into an angry swarm at midfield. Once again, referee Carlos Batres of Guatemala brandished his red card, showing it to Vilar, Munoz Mustafa and Luis Venegas for Atlante and New England's Jay Heaps, meaning he will miss the final.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
