FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Shifted into a substitute role on Sunday night after making six consecutive starts, Charlie Davies knew he’d have limited minutes to make an impact. So he didn’t waste any time.
Davies had been on the field barely two minutes when he ran onto a Jermaine Jones pass and slotted the game-winning goal past Sean Johnson in the 60th minute of the Revolution’s 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire.
“That was my job, to come onto the field and change the game,” said Davies, who now has three goals and two assists in the past seven games. “Obviously I wanted to make an immediate impact and I was fortunate enough to have Jermaine play a great ball in. As a striker, you’ve got to put away those chances and I made sure I took full advantage of it.”
The decision to keep Davies on the bench from the start on Sunday night was a calculated one. It was the Revolution’s third game in a compressed nine-day stretch and Davies had played a combined 151 minutes through the first two matches, so a shorter stint made sense.
But head coach Jay Heaps also thought forward Patrick Mullins’ physical nature could help wear down Chicago’s center backs, paving the way for Davies to make a greater impact off the bench.
He was right.
“I think [Charlie] wanted to start tonight, there’s no question about it,” said Heaps. “My staff and I just felt tonight was going to be one of those games where later in the game, his speed was going to make a difference. When you have two tired center backs, that’s when we felt it was a good time to put Charlie in.”
Davies’ goal completed the Revolution’s second come-from-behind win in just five days as Diego Fagundez struck just before halftime – his first goal since May – to cancel out Sanna Nyassi’s 28th-minute opener.
The fighting spirit New England has shown in the past two games could serve the club well through the season’s final seven weeks as the Revs look to build upon their current 5-1-1 stretch and continue to push for a second consecutive postseason appearance.
“We were able to come back and fight and that’s what makes good teams,” said Davies. “We’re going to need that come playoff time. I think we’re starting to hit full stride at the right time, and I think the best part about it is we’re still going to get better.”
