FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – An “emotional” halftime team talk sparked the New England Revolution to life on Friday night at Gillette Stadium, where they secured their first victory of 2016, a hard-fought 1-0 win over the rival New York Red Bulls.
The Revs were out-possessed, out-dueled and out-shot through the opening 45 minutes, and Revolution head coach Jay Heaps knew he needed to light a fire under his group before re-taking the field.
“Halftime was not an easy halftime,” Heaps said. “It was emotional.”
“It was very emotional, but we stuck together as a team,” said Diego Fagundez, who scored the game’s only goal in the 55th minute. “We weren’t trying to go after each other. We knew that there was still 45 minutes to be played and we had to go out there and do our jobs.”
The passionate halftime was met with a response, as the Revs put together their best spell of the night out of the break. They registered four shots in the opening 10 minutes of the second half – matching their first-half total – capped by Fagundez’s second goal of the season.
“I thought our best stuff came early in the second half when we really dictated the game,” said Heaps. “They beat us to the punch in the first half and I was really happy with how we responded.”
“We went out there in the second half and we changed the game,” said Fagundez. “We were pressuring in a different way and we were trying to move the ball, playing more as a team, and that’s why I think we got a result.”
Heaps’ only issue with the second half was the Revolution’s inability to put the game away with a second goal – particularly against a shorthanded Red Bulls side for the final half hour – but a resolute defensive effort and a five-save performance from Bobby Shuttleworth was enough to earn the Revs three points.
Through two home games the Revs have yet to concede a goal, making them one of just three teams in the league – along with FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City – to record multiple shutouts.
“We’ve talked a lot about once we score a goal, being able to dig in and get a result and holding that lead,” said Shuttleworth. “That’s exactly what we did tonight.”
There was a palpable sense of relief in the Revolution locker room after securing a first victory, having drawn three of their first four games. With that first hurdle cleared the Revs can now move forward with the rest of the season, beginning with Toronto FC’s visit to Gillette Stadium next weekend.
“The first one’s always the hardest,” Heaps said, noting the Revolution’s usual path of playing mostly on the road to start the season. “We really looked forward to getting back here and having a chance to play at home, and that’s what we were able to do.”
“It’s a huge boost for us. We really wanted it. We were tired of hearing reports of us struggling,” said Juan Agudelo, who assisted on Fagundez’s winner. “We’re really happy that we got three points to kind of move forward. That feeling of the first win of the season is big.”
