FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Shalrie Joseph and Rajko Lekic scored either side of halftime as New England snapped their seven-match winless streak with a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.
Joseph placed the Revs in front with a diving header after 14 minutes. New England continued to create the better of the chances even as FCD pressed forward in the second half and ultimately guaranteed the points with five minutes to play as Lekic swept home a near-post flick at the back stick to condemn FCD to their second loss in three matches.
FCD started the match as the brighter of the two sides, but New England constructed a fine move to open the scoring for the 10th time in their past 12 matches.
Joseph made the initial challenge to start the move in the FCD half and sparked the buildup with a quick outlet pass toward Milton Caraglio on the right wing. Caraglio backheeled the feed back into Monsef Zerka's path to prompt a curling cross from the Moroccan international. Joseph darted across the face of goal and directed his diving header home at the near post to notch his eighth goal of the season.
FCD enjoyed the better of the play as the half progressed, but Caraglio spurned the best two chances of the opening stanza. Benny Feilhaber's corner from the left side found the Argentine striker unmarked at the back upright after 22 minutes, but he bounced his header off the ground and wide of Kevin Hartman's goal. Caraglio also managed to spurn an opportunity prompted by Jair Benítez's poor backpass as he hit the side of the net after rounding Hartman in first-half stoppage time.
Hartman and former UCLA and LA Galaxy teammate Matt Reis exchanged fine saves in the initial moments of the second half to retain the halftime scoreline, while Caraglio spurned yet another chance in the 60th minute after Franco Coria's long hoof fell to his favored left foot.
Darrius Barnes forced Hartman into yet another diving save with a long-distance blast after 74 minutes as the Revs pushed numbers higher up the field to heed the cautionary tales of the past few matches.
FCD strained to find the goal that would secure a point, but couldn't quite create the right opportunity. Reis palmed Maicon Santos' chance over the bar in the 78th minute, but FCD couldn't translate its pressure into the goal it sought.
Lekic scored the vital second to give the Revs all three points with five minutes to play. Second-half substitute Ryan Cochrane flicked on Feilhaber's near-post corner from the left flank. Lekic wriggled free at the back stick to tuck home his sixth goal of the season and snap New England's seven-game winless streak.
The Revs next game is at Portland on Sept. 16, while FCD return home to face Tauro FC in a CONCACAF Champions League match on Sept. 14 and a league match against the New York Red Bulls two days later.
Scoring Summary:
NE -- Shalrie Joseph 8 (Moncef Zerka 1, Milton Caraglio 1) 14
NE -- Rajko Lekic 6 (Ryan Cochrane 1, Benny Feilhaber 4) 84
Misconduct Summary:
DAL -- Brek Shea (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 25
DAL -- Ricardo Villar (caution; Reckless Tackle) 74
NE -- Ryan Guy (caution; Reckless Foul) 93+
Lineups:
FC Dallas -- Kevin Hartman, Andrew Jacobson, Zach Loyd, George John, Jair Benitez (Maykel Galindo 80), Jackson, Daniel Cruz (Ruben Luna 69), Ricardo Villar, Daniel Hernandez, Brek Shea (Jeremy Hall 46), Maicon Santos.
Substitutes Not Used: Jack Stewart, Bobby Warshaw, Andrew Wiedeman, Chris Seitz.
New England Revolution -- Matt Reis, Kevin Alston, Franco Coria (Ryan Cochrane 72), A.J. Soares, Darrius Barnes, Moncef Zerka (Ryan Guy 80), Shalrie Joseph, Benny Feilhaber, Chris Tierney, Rajko Lekic, Milton Caraglio (Kenny Mansally 73).
Substitutes Not Used: Kheli Dube, Diego Fagundez, Zack Schilawski, Bobby Shuttleworth.
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Referee's Assistants: Fabio Tovar; Ian Anderson
4th Official: Jose Carlos Rivero
Time of Game: 1:55
Weather: Clear and 67 degrees
Attendance: 15,498
