A shaky start saw the New England Revolution fall behind to Chivas USA, but the home side recovered sufficiently to fire three unanswered goals and secure consecutive wins for the first time this season, claiming a 3-1 victory Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
Andy Dorman, Shalrie Joseph and Taylor Twellman were the men on the mark for Steve Nicol's side on a rainy night in New England, after Francisco Mendoza gave Chivas an early lead.
Nicol surprised everyone with his team selection when he tapped the returning Joe Franchino to fill the central midfield gap left by the injured Daniel Hernandez. However, the Revolution skipper looked out of place in the opening quarter of the game, as Chivas settled quickly and had the majority of the possession.
It was no surprise when the visitors took the lead, with a 19th-minute goal that reflected the early problems of the Revolution. Tony Lochhead, making his first career MLS start, was guilty of a poor touch on the edge of his own penalty area and the ball rebounded to Ante Razov, who played a square pass to the left to the charging Mendoza. The 21-year-old got in ahead of Dorman and, after a touch, slotted past Revolution 'keeper Matt Reis.
Dorman, however, would make up for his lapse within four minutes. The architect of the goal was Jose Cancela, who collected his fourth assist in three games with a magnificent diagonal pass from the halfway line that scorched across the saturated turf and reached Dorman perfectly in stride as he cut inside Chivas left back Jonathan Bornstein.
Dorman, who spent the entire week in his homeland continuing with the process of securing his green card in Great Britain, touched the ball past Chivas 'keeper Brad Guzan and rolled the ball into the unguarded net from 15 yards out.
The quick leveler was the catalyst for an improved period of play from the Revolution, though in truth, both sides looked more likely to take advantage of a mistake by their opponent than to create something themselves.
Chivas had half chances for Razov, who climbed higher than Michael Parkhurst, only to head too close to Reis, and Jesse Marsch, who should have done better than fire at the Revolution goalkeeper following a giveaway by Jay Heaps.
A moment of controversy came in the 39th minute when Twellman, until then a peripheral figure, took possession following a slip in the Chivas defense. The striker ran at Carlos Llamosa and was impeded by the former Revolution defender. Twellman managed to keep his feet and was lining up an attempt on goal when referee Mark Geiger blew for the previous foul by Llamosa, who was shown a yellow card.
The decision caused consternation amongst the home players who, led by Twellman, argued with some justification that a clear advantage had been denied them. Their frustration was only increased when, from the resulting free kick, Cancela's effort saw him fire straight at Guzan.
With four minutes to go before the break, it was Chivas' turn to curse their ill luck when Razov was played through on the right side. The ball eluded Reis, who attempted to play outside of his area, some 40 yards left of goal. But with a wide open net gaping, Razov was guilty of a bad miss as he chipped wide.
The struggling Lochhead was replaced at the interval by Willie Sims and the home side immediately looked to have a more cohesive alignment, with Dorman moving inside and Franchino also looking more comfortable on the left.
Eight minutes after the break, Heaps took possession following a quick free kick and played a perfect cross to the far post which found Joseph charging in for his third goal in two games. The Grenadian's header gave Guzan no chance, though the Chivas 'keeper will have some questions to ask his defense, which failed to track the midfielder's run.
Having taken the lead, the Revolution took control of the remainder of the game, though Nicol's side had to wait until the 86th minute to secure the points. Joseph found Twellman, who had pulled away from the tiring Llamosa on the edge of the penalty area. The two men had had quite a battle all night, but Twellman ensured he would have the last laugh when he turned sharply and fired beyond Guzan and into the right corner.
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
