FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – Je-Vaughn Watson should consider predicting goals more often. After calling his shot last month against Chicago, he pulled the trick against the Fire once again on Tuesday night.
This one – the decisive tally in a 3-1 semifinal victory at Gillette Stadium – will send the Revolution to next month’s US Open Cup final against the winner of Wednesday's match between FC Dallas and the LA Galaxy.
“I’m in the zone, you know,” Watson said with a chuckle, recounting the bold prediction he made to teammate Steve Neumann before the match.
“I said it’s Chicago, I scored against them last time, so whatever, I’m going to go for it. When you’re in a good spot like that and you see the ball, you just finish it. And before I even put it in the goal, I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, it’s a goal again.’”
Watson tends to score in spurts, and both Wednesday’s opponent and the Open Cup tournament have served to fuel the recent barrage. Slotted into the Revs backline for tonight’s match, the Jamaican also scored in New England’s quarterfinal victory against Philadelphia.
Much like his other goals, he found himself in the right place at the right time, coolly nodding in a deflection off a corner in the 42nd minute. The score came less than two minutes after Chicago’s David Accam netted the equalizer, despite New England controlling the run of play for much of the first half. The score completely changed the complexion of the game for the second half.
“He’s hungry. He likes the ball. He’s dangerous and he never stops moving in the box. That’s the important thing,” said New England coach Jay Heaps of Watson. “He’s not just waiting for the first service, he’s reading. Those are the ones people stop on. He just keeps going.”
“It was a big moment for us because we were so disappointed [Accam’s] goal went through. … I love that we responded well.”
New England will be seeking their first Open Cup title since 2007, and the guaranteed spot in the CONCACAF Champions League that comes along with it. The Revs, who are currently tied with Orlando City for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, are also hoping the Cup run will propel them to a strong finish in league play
“There’s a lot of things we can take from this game,” said Teal Bunbury, who put the game away with an 85th-minute strike and showed composure in pulling Kelyn Rowe from a late-match scrum that ended with a red card for Accam. “Obviously, winning is huge playing at home, moving the ball around well. Defensively we were in great shape.”
