FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Saturday night’s meeting with the New York Red Bulls wasn’t quite a “must-win” for the New England Revolution, but with a stretch of three road games in nine days looming, it was certainly a match that carried a bit of extra weight.
New England dealt with that weight expertly, overcoming Bradley Wright-Phillips’ early goal to secure a come-from-behind, 2-1 win at Gillette Stadium and pull themselves level with the Red Bulls on 22 points in the crowded Eastern Conference standings.
“This one was huge,” said Jalil Anibaba. “It was intense from minute one. They put a lot into the game, and we put a lot into it, as well. I thought it was a very fair fought match.
“As far as the result is concerned, it was huge. Intra-conference game – we needed this one.”
The evening got off to something of a rocky start for the Revs as Wright-Phillips’ punished the hosts with a trademark header just eight minutes after the opening whistle. But from there the Revs were largely untroubled, as goalkeeper Matt Turner was given a bit of respite after a heroic performance in Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with Atlanta United FC.
Turner, who made three saves on the night, credited the work of the squad in front of him, including captain Claude Dielna, who filled in on the left side of defense with Chris Tierney (torn ACL) lost for the season and Gabriel Somi (ankle) deemed unfit following a late fitness test.
“We had a plan and we stuck to it,” Turner said. “We really limited their chances. They had to resort to a lot of long balls, and we did a good job of winning the first ones and cleaning up the seconds.”
While the Revs limited New York’s chances at one end of the field, they generated the necessary opportunities at the other with a lethal blend of patience and guile.
Diego Fagundez equalized on the stroke of halftime with his fourth goal of the season – a critical goal as the Revs were rewarded for their endeavor before the break – setting the stage for Teal Bunbury’s eighth goal of the year to be his league-leading fifth game-winner in the 78th minute.
“That’s the main message – stick to the plan,” said Turner. “Goals happen in soccer. [New York’s] was a good goal and sometimes no matter how good you play, teams are going to score. There’s no reason to freak out. We did a good job of keeping of our composure, trusting our plan, and it paid off.”
Saturday night’s win gives the Revs a jolt of confidence ahead of Tuesday night’s trip to Louisville City FC in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup, before the Revs will visit the Chicago Fire and San Jose Earthquakes for a pair of league games next week.
“We’re going to Louisville to win the game,” said head coach Brad Friedel. “I’ve said this many times – losing can be a bad habit that you get into, and winning can be a great habit that you get into.”
