FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It took one brilliant attacking sequence to put the New England Revolution ahead of New York City FC on Saturday night, and 90 minutes of fantastic defending to make it stand up.
Lee Nguyen’s third goal of the season – a perfect finish at the end of breathtaking interplay between Daigo Kobayashi and Diego Fagundez – was the game winner, while Brad Knighton made three saves behind a makeshift back four to help the Revs snap a five-game losing streak with a 1-0 win.
“It was a collective, team effort,” said Knighton. “We’ve been looking for that effort for the last couple months. It wasn’t the prettiest at times, but we got the result that we wanted.”
Knighton was pressed into action for just the second time this season when Bobby Shuttleworth suffered a concussion midweek. His first save came in just the second minute – a comfortable stop of a Patrick Mullins header – but it gave him the confidence he needed in a pressure situation.
“That one wasn’t a difficult save, but it was a good save for him to get,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “I think the crowd was right behind him and that’s the kind of save that gets a player going.”
From there Knighton commanded a back four which consisted of the Revolution’s only four healthy, available defenders: Andrew Farrell, Jeremy Hall, Chris Tierney and London Woodberry.
After conceding seven goals in the past two games, both losses, New England shut down a high-powered NYCFC attack, including David Villa, who had scored multiple goals in three of the last four games.
Villa didn’t register a shot on Saturday night, marking the first time since he arrived in MLS that the star striker failed to direct an effort in the direction of goal.
“I thought London and Farrell were fantastic,” said Knighton. “[Villa] didn’t really have much of a sniff for much of tonight. Where they could double team, they did.”
Saturday night’s win in front of a season-high home crowd of 28,811 gives the Revs a bit of a foothold heading into next weekend’s road match against the Chicago Fire.
The Revs will regain the services of Jose Goncalves at Toyota Park, but it remains to be seen whether Shuttleworth will recover in time to feature in Bridgeview.
Regardless, the Revs are more than comfortable should Knighton continue between the sticks.
“I thought Brad was really good,” said Heaps. “He was good in the air, he made some good saves and I thought he communicated really well. It’s good to have him.”
