CHICAGO – Teal Bunbury wasn’t giving anything away when asked whether he’d meant his second goal in Sunday night’s 2-1 win over Chicago Fire FC.
“Of course,” he said confidently.
Would he like to add anything else?
“Nah,” he said with a shake of the head.
It was impossible to tell whether Bunbury delivered his answers with a sly smile – he was wearing a mask, per COVID-19 protocols – but one would imagine he did, considering his second goal looked for all the world like a cross which floated perfectly, probably fortuitously, inside the far upper corner.
“Certainly, there was a bit of luck,” admitted head coach Bruce Arena. “If any team deserved a little luck this year, it’s us, because we haven’t had a whole lot. So we got that tonight.”
There was nothing lucky about Bunbury’s first goal, however, as the veteran forward provided the end product following fantastic buildup in just the third minute. Gustavo Bou forced a turnover, Adam Buksa flicked on a header to Tommy McNamara, who played a perfect ball across the face of goal to Bunbury.
It was the perfect start for a New England Revolution side which had struggled in the early stages of recent games, and it sent them on their way to a second straight road win following their triumph over D.C. United at Audi Field two weeks ago.
“We were stressing the past few days about being confident on the ball and being able to play a little bit more direct,” said Bunbury. “I think we did that. Tommy got the ball in a great position, and what a ball he played me. I don’t remember the last time I got a ball in a position like that. Great vision on his part.
“I think we caught Chicago off guard and he played an unbelievable ball. In the end, it was my job to tuck it away. We were able to get two goals tonight, and I think a little bit of luck here and there is what we needed at this point.”
Bunbury’s brace gives him a team-leading four goals on the season, tied for eighth in MLS, and his two game winners are tied for third-best league-wide. It was Bunbury’s sixth career two-goal game, but his first since July of 2017 against the LA Galaxy.
Three of Bunbury’s four goals have come in the last four games, and as the 30-year-old attacker begins to heat up, he’ll play a critical role in the Revolution attack in a variety of different ways.
“Give Teal credit,” said Arena. “Teal is a guy that is experienced. He’s very fit. He won a lot of duels tonight that made a difference in the game. Give him a lot of credit.
“The second goal, he might admit that there may have been a bit of luck there, but we’re not going to dwell on it too much.”
