FOXBOROUGH, Mass – New England was patiently waiting for the breakthrough that would give them three crucial points against the Chicago Fire. But as their legs got heavier, the minutes dwindled, and Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson’s saves tally mounted, it started to appear that wait would go unrequited.
Eventually, the Revs patience and persistence was rewarded when midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson capitalized on a Johnson mistake to head home the decisive goal in the 85th minute of New England’s 1-0 victory.
“Anytime we felt like we found a little bit of a seam, we were a little bit off or we didn’t find the right pass,” said Revolution coach Jay Heaps, who described the game as a "grinder." “But I think tonight we had to wait for our moment. Wait for a set piece. Wait for our moment when we could get everyone, take a deep breath, and commit to making a play and that’s what Je-Vaughn [Watson] did."
Watson’s performance completed a breakthrough week in which he scored the Revolution’s lone regulation goal and then clinched their US Open Cup quarterfinal victory in penalty kicks against Philadelphia on Wednesday. Saturday’s game-winner was Watson’s first MLS regular season goal in 23 months.
The goal came when Johnson bounded from his line to try to punch away a New England corner kick. But he badly misjudged his angle of attack and missed the ball completely, which allowed Watson to calmly head the winner into the open goal.
“I just need to get myself in good spots, because I know I’m always in a spot to score and if I get the chance, I’ll score,” said Watson, who had apparently called his shot beforehand by telling teammate Gershon Koffie he expected to get on to the score sheet Saturday night.
“That’s the thing with me, whenever I score one goal, I just keep scoring," he said. "When I used to play in Jamaica, when I used to play in Dallas, whenever I score one goal, I just want to get off the mark. I got this feeling before the game that I was going to score.”
The win punctuated a grueling week for the Revolution, who battled Real Salt Lake to a draw in Utah last weekend before a 120-minute marathon against the Union that ended in penalty kicks.
A draw Saturday against a team that hasn’t claimed an away victory in 35 matches would’ve been disappointing, especially considering the Revolution out-shot Chicago 18-11, and put 11 shots on frame to Chicago’s goose egg.
“It’s huge. It’s really big for us. We’ve gotten three or four good results strung together and the confidence is building,” said defender Andrew Farrell, who will represent the Revolution in Thursday’s AT&T All-Star Game against English Premier League side Arsenal.
“We’ve got players with a lot of confidence starting to play well together. Getting these results is just making our team a little bit better and better and better, and we're kind of peaking at the right time.”
