The goalless streak ended and so too did the winless streak for the New England Revolution, who celebrated Taylor Twellman Night with a 2-0 victory over the visiting Colorado Rapids Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, their first victory since they beat the Chicago Fire 1-0 on July 23. The Rapids lost consecutive matches for the first time all season and are now winless in their last four games.
With usual target forward Kei Kamara away on international duty with Sierra Leone, the Revolution started Juan Agudelo and Lee Nguyen up front -- it was Nguyen's first career start at forward -- and the duo paid dividends early, as they combined with Gershon Koffie to set up Agudelo's goal that gave the Revolution the lead in the 12th minute. The goal ended New England's scoring drought at 373 minutes.
Nguyen had a chance to double the lead when Colorado goalkeeper Zac MacMath took down Kelyn Rowe in the box, but Nguyen banged the ensuing penalty kick off the goalpost in the 33rd minute.
The Revs did get their second goal, however, in the 49th minute, on another pretty play when Diego Fagundez took a heel flick pass from Rowe and sent a pass to his left for Chris Tierney, who blasted it home to make it 2-0.
Box Score
- 12’ – NE – Juan Agudelo (Gershon Koffie, Lee Nguyen)
- 49’ – NE – Chris Tierney (Diego Fagundez, Kelyn Rowe)
- Full box score
- Stats
- Highlights
Three Things
1. MAYBE HE WAS RUSTY: Zac MacMath, who hadn't started a game since Tim Howard joined the club in July, had a tough night. With Howard away on USMNT duty, MacMath got to play for the first time since June 22. He allowed two goals, made one save, and gave away a penalty when he tripped New England's Kelyn Rowe in the box. And, if you're a New England fan, you probably wanted a second penalty call, on an apparent trip by MacMath of Lee Nguyen in the third minute. Before Howard arrived, MacMath allowed just 11 goals in 16 games.
2. STAYING ALIVE:
With the victory, the Revolution are now just two points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, so they remain in the hunt although the teams they are battling with for that final spot
–
Orlando City and D.C. United
–
have games in hand on them.
3. DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS, BUT...: You do need to score goals to win games. The Rapids were at the top of the Western Conference and Supporters' Shield standings for a long time this summer, largely because of their stingy defense (a league-low 24 goals allowed). But 28 goals scored is the second-lowest goal production in the league. They've scored just twice in the last four games, which helps explain the Rapids' slide in the West.
Next Up
