FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Wednesday night’s battle for first place in the Eastern Conference was never going to be about who played the prettiest soccer. Not with two long-time rivals squaring off in a late-season showdown, and definitely not with conference supremacy on the line.
Instead, it came down to fight. And on the night, it was the New England Revolution who edged out the New York Red Bulls in that category, willing themselves to a 2-1 victory at Gillette Stadium and climbing into sole possession of top spot in the East.
“It was a fight from the opening whistle,” said Revs head coach Jay Heaps. “It was two teams that were desperately trying to leave their mark on the game. It was almost more of a fight than a football match.
“That happens because you’ve got two teams that play very similar styles and they don’t want to give anything away. I don’t think there was one player from both teams that didn’t work as hard as they possibly could to try to get the result tonight.”
The teams traded punches – metaphorically speaking – inside six minutes.
Diego Fagundez scored for the fourth straight game just 62 seconds after the opening whistle, but Mike Grella hit back with a stunning volley almost immediately to leave the sides deadlocked at 1-1.
For a while it looked like perhaps there would be nothing to separate the rivals as a series of half chances went begging through the next hour, but that’s when Kelyn Rowe popped up with an opportunistic finish at the perfect time, catching the Red Bulls’ backline unawares at a critical moment.
“I think it was good that we were able to battle through,” said Rowe, who has now scored in back-to-back games to bring his stat-line up to six goals and six assists on the year. “It wasn’t the prettiest game.
“There were obviously spots where we looked really good, held some possession, but it was a hard-fought game, especially through midfield.”
The truth is that the Revs have found many different ways to win through their current run, which features an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) and six straight victories, tying a club record.
Now they’ll try to establish a new mark on Saturday night at Stade Saputo, where the Revolution can clinch a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs for a third straight year with a victory over the Montreal Impact.
On the road in a tough environment, they can look to recent results for inspiration.
“I thought the team did great fighting,” said Juan Agudelo. “This was a game that we knew was going to be a battle. It was two top teams in the East and we’re very happy that we won the battle today.”
