New England Revolution 0, Columbus Crew SC 2 | 2016 MLS Match Recap

Peter Brownell

Columbus Crew SC shutout the New England Revolution 2-0 at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night, grabbing a much-needed three points on the road.

Ethan Finlay shocked the home team early in the proceedings with a tap-in goal after a perfectly executed counter attack and Federico Higuain added a second to seal the result. New England (6-11-8, 26 pts) were unable to break down Columbus (4-8-11, 23 pts) in a frustrating match for a Revolution side currently on the wrong side of the red line.

Higuain doubled his side’s lead early in the second half when teammate Ola Kamara blocked an errant London Woodberry pass deep in New England’s defensive half. Kamara picked out the Argentine with a clever pass inside the box that Higuain coolly buried.

The Revolution created more chances in the latter stages of the second half. Kei Kamara forced a goal-line clearance out of former teammate Michael Parkurst that nearly cut the Crew SC lead in half and Juan Agudelo had a close-range effort saved by Steve Clark.

Box Score

8’ – CLB – Ethan Finlay (Justin Meram, Hector Jimenez)
49’ – CLB – Federico Higuain (Ola Kamara)
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Three Things

1. PIPA RUNS THE SHOW

Federico Higuain was a monster in attack for Columbus Crew SC throughout the entire 90 minutes. The No. 10 hit probing ball after probing ball, consistently cutting open the New England back four. His second-half finish gave the Crew an insurance goal, in what was a truly dominating performance by the Columbus maestro.

2. NO PAYBACK FOR KAMARA

Facing his former team, Kei Kamara was unable to pay his one-time employers back for trading him earlier this year. Kamara nearly broke through on a few occasions, most notably late in the second half when his knock-down header was cleared off the goal line by a hustling Michael Parkhurst.

3. THREE POINTS, FINALLY

Columbus Crew SC will feel like a massive gorilla was lifted off their shoulders with Saturday’s victory. Gregg Berhalter’s side hasn't won an MLS game since May 28, when they topped Real Salt Lake 4-3. With 11 games to go, Crew SC faithful will hope tonight’s victory inspires improved results and perhaps even a late playoff run.