JAMAICA, N.Y. – For the second time in two weeks the New England Revolution used a late goal to advance in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night, and this time their dramatic win over the New York Cosmos booked them a spot in the competition’s quarterfinals.
Teal Bunbury scored a pair of goals – including the game winner in the 83rd minute – and Kei Kamara notched his first with New England as the Revs came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory over the Cosmos, setting up a quarterfinal meeting with the Philadelphia Union on July 20 at Harvard Stadium.
“It’s huge for us. We have a quarterfinal game at home,” said Bunbury, who won the Open Cup as a member of Sporting Kansas City in 2012. “The Cosmos are a great team. It was a great matchup. All the respect to them, but I’m glad we were able to come out here and win the game.
“That’s what it comes down to. In the U.S. Open Cup, it’s always going to be a battle, always going to be a test of character and we came out here and got the job done.”
Wednesday night certainly tested the Revolution’s character as twice they fell behind to the Cosmos. Ruben Bover had the hosts on top late in the first half before Bunbury responded on the stroke of halftime, while Sebastian Guenzatti restored New York’s lead in the 56th minute.
It was a lead that lasted into the final 15 minutes, until second-half substitute Kamara made his presence felt. In his seventh overall appearance with the Revs, Kamara notched his first goal to level the score in the 75th minute, before he teed up Bunbury for the winner in the 83rd minute.
“It doesn’t matter what game it is or how the goal comes, to finally get that first goal, it feels great,” said Kamara, who finished first time into an empty net after his attempted cross was blocked. “Not only just the goal, but a goal that gives us three points and moving on to the next round of the Open Cup is good.”
Now the Union await in the quarterfinals – a rematch of a 2014 meeting at the same stage – but first the Revs will play four more league matches before that Open Cup contest, beginning on Saturday night when they’ll play their fifth straight road game against the Montreal Impact.
“Any way you can win a game, especially coming back [twice] and capitalizing on opportunities, it’s a lot of will and it’s a mentality now,” said Bunbury. “We’ve got to keep this going forward. We have the second half of our season, hopefully some more Open Cup games, and that’s our main focus now.”
