FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – For the first time this season the New England Revolution encountered a bit of adversity at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night, conceding in the seventh minute as they fell behind the visiting New York Red Bulls. In previous home wins over D.C. United, Atlanta United, and the Columbus Crew, the Revs had never trailed at any point.
But the hosts persevered and it didn’t take long before they had themselves back on track. Gustavo Bou and Tajon Buchanan scored 11 minutes apart late in the first half, sandwiched around an Andres Reyes red card, giving the Revs not only a lead but also a man advantage by halftime.
By the time Adam Buksa came off the bench to seal the three points with his team-leading third goal of the season in the 82nd minute, the Revs already seemed well on their way to a 4-0-0 start at Gillette Stadium for the first time since 2005.
“We didn’t have the pressure that we needed in those first few minutes. They scored that goal and after that we kind of woke up,” said Bou, who also provided the assist on Buksa’s insurance strike. “We tied the game and then took advantage of the man advantage that we had, and thank God we were able to win the game calmly. The idea was to close it before the final minutes and sort of relax at the end, but I’m happy that we got the win and hopefully we can continue playing well.”
Bou was particularly influential on Saturday night, running onto Arnór Traustason’s through ball to calmly score the Revolution’s first goal in the 36th minute, and earning significant praise for his role in Buksa’s late goal, pushing down the right side before sliding a pass across the face of goal for a simple finish.
It was one of a career-high seven chances created for Bou, who had one goal and one assist for the second time in his Revolution tenure.
“I think Gustavo played well,” said head coach Bruce Arena. “The assist he got on the third goal was tremendous. He held the ball up, did a bunch of good things. He can get better, as can all the players, the coaches, everything else. We’re just in the start of the season. We have to be a little bit patient. And we’re pleased with the progress Gustavo’s making.”
Arena belabored the point that the season is still young – seven games into a 34-game schedule – joking that the Revs will finish somewhere between 1st and 14th in the Eastern Conference. But there’s hope that New England can maintain their current perch atop the conference standings, even if they know they’ll need to keep improving as the season progresses.
“I don’t celebrate a whole lot being in first place in the seventh week of the season,” Arena said. “With the way we will assess this year, is at the end of the year, not right now. I’m pleased with the way the program has grown. We’re getting better, but we know we have a way to go. But we’re making progress. That’s the good part. I’m pleased where we are right now, but we know we need to get much better.”
