FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Houston defender Bobby Boswell swept home a rebound from close range in the 90th minute to lift the Dynamo to a 1-1 draw against New England at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday night.
Former Houston defender Ryan Cochrane diverted a rebound home at the far post to give the Revs the lead after just four minutes. Houston enjoyed much of the play for the remainder of the match, but it took until the final moments to break through as substitute Carlo Costly headed down Brad Davis' corner kick and Boswell poked home the rebound to claim a point.
Cochrane poked the Revs in front after four minutes just moments after Chris Tierney hit the bar. New England's short corner caused havoc in the Dynamo penalty. The remnants of a poor clearance fell to Milton Caraglio, but he saw his shot charged down. The rebound deflected to the back stick for Cochrane to convert against his former side.
The goal — and Kevin Alston's goal-line clearance two minutes later — highlighted the frantic opening period, but Houston assumed control as the first half progressed and piled the pressure on Matt Reis.
The Revs ‘keeper made fine saves on Je-Vaughn Watson and Adam Moffat in quick succession, while he breathed easy as Cam Weaver and Geoff Cameron spurned opportunities from good position. One last save on a Cameron header five minutes before the break ensured the Revs entered the halftime break with a one-goal lead.
The interval did not dramatically alter the course of the proceedings as Houston continued to push forward in search of the equalizer. Reis pulled another save out of the top drawer as he dove low to his left to deny Cameron once again in the 56th minute.
Both sides made liberal changes in the final half an hour in an attempt to influence the game, but those switches did not alter the outcome until the last moments of the game. Davis — dangerous with his service all night — curled in another tempting corner kick. Costly rose highest to force Reis into a save, but Boswell poked home on the goal line to salvage a point for the Dynamo.
That wasn’t the game’s last action, however, as both Reis and Moffat were ejected after the final whistle following a touchline confrontation after the Scottish midfielder made a harsh challenge on New England's Pat Phelan.
With the draw, Houston improve to 7-7-11 and temporarily leapfrog New York in the Eastern Conference standings. They next host Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
New England, meanwhile, saw their dwindling playoff chances take another hit — they move to 4-11-10 as their winless streak reaches five games. The Revs next host New York, also on Saturday.
Scoring Summary:
NE -- Ryan Cochrane 1 (unassisted) 4
HOU -- Bobby Boswell 3 (unassisted) 90
Misconduct Summary:
NE -- Milton Caraglio (caution; Dissent) 64
HOU -- Hunter Freeman (caution; Dissent) 67
HOU -- Adam Moffat (caution; Reckless Foul) 79
HOU -- Bobby Boswell (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 83
HOU -- Jermaine Taylor (caution; Reckless Tackle) 92+
NE -- Matt Reis (ejection) 94+
HOU -- Adam Moffat (second caution) 94+
HOU -- Adam Moffat (ejection 94+)
Lineups:
Houston Dynamo -- Tally Hall, Hunter Freeman (Calen Carr 80), Bobby Boswell, Andre Hainault, Jermaine Taylor, Je-Vaughn Watson (Alex Dixon 62), Adam Moffat, Geoff Cameron, Brad Davis, Brian Ching (Carlo Costly 71), Cam Weaver.
Substitutes Not Used: Corey Ashe, Eddie Robinson, Kofi Sarkodie, Tyler Deric.
New England Revolution -- Matt Reis, Kevin Alston, Darrius Barnes, Ryan Cochrane (Pat Phelan 76), A.J. Soares, Zak Boggs, Shalrie Joseph, Benny Feilhaber, Chris Tierney (Zack Schilawski 62), Kenny Mansally, Milton Caraglio (Stephen McCarthy 79).
Substitutes Not Used: Diego Fagundez, Ryan Guy, Andrew Sousa, Bobby Shuttleworth.
Referee: Michael Kennedy
Referee's Assistants: Kermit Quisenberry; Bill Dittmar
4th Official: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 10,963
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Partly Cloudy and 79 degrees
