FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – His name didn’t end up on the scoresheet, but Teal Bunbury played a key role in the New England Revolution’s equalizing goal in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers.
Bunbury’s near-post run in the 85th minute dragged Timbers’ defender Lawrence Olum with him, opening up space for Lee Nguyen to glide into just in front of the Portland goal. Bunbury’s deft flick on Kei Kamara’s cross then forced Timbers’ goalkeeper Jake Gleeson into an awkward save as he pushed the ball directly into Nguyen’s path for a simple finish.
It was exactly the type of impact Bunbury was hoping to make after entering the match in the 69th minute with the Revs trailing 1-0 and pressing for an equalizer.
“You want to go out there and you want to help your team win,” said Bunbury. “If you can put yourself in positions to do that, I think it’s very rewarding for myself and the other guys that work hard every day in training to try to win games, try to make big plays. It’s rewarding and it’s fun.”
Bunbury has settled into something of a super-sub role in the early stages of 2017, appearing off the bench in each of the Revolution’s first four matches. On three of those occasions he entered with the Revs trailing by a single goal and searching for a way back into the match.
It’s not an entirely new role for Bunbury – 66 of his 181 career appearances in MLS have been as a substitute – and he still has his sights set on a return to the starting lineup, but in the meantime, he’s happy to be one of the names head coach Jay Heaps calls when in need of an offensive spark.
“Whenever I come in, I want to make sure I’m making a difference,” Bunbury said. “Obviously I want to start every game, I want to play every minute. But if that’s not the case, then whenever the coach puts me in, I’m going to try to capitalize on chances, I’m going to try to cause havoc, and I’m going to try to make a difference whether it’s offensively or defensively.”
