Matt Reis saved an 88th minute penalty from Eddie Gaven, enabling the New England Revolution to hang on for a much-needed 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew in the rain at Gillette Stadium Sunday.
A first-half goal by Jeff Larentowicz was the game-winner for the home side, but once again the Revs were left clinging on as their opponents, who had to play the final 26 minutes with 10 men after Joseph Ngwenya was sent off, pushed hard for a leveler.
It looked as though Columbus would be rewarded for their exertions when, in the 87th minute, James Riley handled a Crew corner. The defender, who otherwise had a fine game, was guilty of jumping with raised hands and, as soon as he made contact with the aerial ball, Shane Moody had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Although Gaven struck his penalty well, it was at a good height to Reis' right and the Revolution 'keeper was able to dive and palm the effort around the post.
Given the Revolution's recent goalscoring drought - before tonight the side had not hit the net for 254 minutes - it was perhaps inevitable that the breakthrough would come from an unlikely source in scrappy fashion. However, in the 34th minute, nobody in blue was complaining when Jeff Larentowicz stabbed home his first career goal.
A corner by Cancela was half-cleared by Columbus to Andy Dorman on the edge of the penalty area. The Englishman returned the ball with interest into the crowded area where it struck Jay Heaps and fell kindly for Larentowicz, who showed a striker's instinct to swivel and poke a left-footed shot beyond Bill Gaudette into the bottom right corner.
In the absence of the suspended Clint Dempsey and the hamstrung Pat Noonan, New England boss Steve Nicol had recalled Cancela in an attacking midfield role and also gave a second career start to Willie Sims. While Cancela offered a creative spark to the Revs, on too many early occasions his promptings were snuffed by the Columbus defense. In slippery conditions, Sims in particular struggled to deal with passes laid into him, while several opportunities to play balls into the middle from wide positions were wasted due to poor final crosses.
Cancela had the home side's first effort of the night, testing Gaudette with a well-hit shot after four minutes. In the 28th minute, the Uruguayan was at the center of the action once again when his clever through ball was just a step ahead of Taylor Twellman in side the Columbus penalty area. One minute later former Rev, Rusty Pierce, had a chance to put the Crew ahead but stabbed his shot wide having been put through on goal by Ngwenya.
Three minutes later, Twellman did get on the end of a chance and thought he had put his side ahead, only to be denied by the offside flag. Following a quick free kick after a foul on Shalrie Joseph, the striker reacted to Gaudette's palmed save from Dorman's shot and stabbed home with his left foot. However, as the initial shot from Dorman came in, Twellman was a step beyond the last defender. For his protestations, Twellman earned a yellow card.
In addition to Twellman's censure, the ever-deteriorating weather conditions meant that referee, Shane Moody, was kept busy by several flashpoints between the teams. Joseph's booking in the 10th minute for a foul on Marcos Gonzalez will see the Grenadian suspended for next Saturday's game in Columbus. However, it was an incident just past the hour mark that proved to be the most controversial of the evening.
A quickly taken Revolution free kick looked to have been cut out by Gaudette. However, Dorman's forward momentum caused him to collide with the Crew goalkeeper, who took exception to the contact. The pair pushed each other, each earning a caution. A mass of players came together and, in the melee, Ngwenya grabbed Dorman by the throat to push him away. After and conversing with his assistants, Moody showed the striker a red card.
Looking to take advantage of the situation, New England almost doubled their lead immediately. Dorman was at the center of the action once again with a run down the right side that ended with a testing cross that eluded Sims but fell to Twellman at the far post. The Revs' top scorer got good contact on his shot but could only direct the effort at Gaudette, who scrambled to make the save.
Columbus' attack was lively and created one or two worrying second-half moments. Reis did well to punch away a volleyed effort by Duncan Oughton in the 55th minute and a better chance for the visitors came with 12 minutes left when Jason Garey was found by substitute, Ned Grabavoy, open on the right of the area. The rookie striker took a touch but, with the goal gaping, dragged his shot wide of the far post.
Khano Smith replaced Sims with 19 minutes to go and the Bermudan had two chances to sea the points for the Revolution as the game became stretched. Smith headed badly wide from Dorman's inch-perfect cross in the 76th minute before blasting a good opportunity over in the 82nd minute. Thanks to Reis, though, the Revs were not left ruing the misses.
Andrew Hush is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
