FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Saturday night’s rain-soaked encounter between the New England Revolution and Columbus Crew SC always felt like it might come down to a set piece.
In the end, it did, but unfortunately for the Revs it was Crew SC center back Lalas Abubakar who got on the end of Federico Higuain’s corner kick in the 85th minute to nod home the only goal of the game in a gut-punch 1-0 loss for the hosts.
“I didn’t feel in danger, at all, of losing the game,” said Revolution head coach Brad Friedel. “Then we conceded a very sloppy goal on a set piece. That can be something (where) we only have ourselves to blame.”
Clear-cut chances were fairly limited in a somewhat cagey affair, though the sides did generate 10 shots on target between them (six for the Revs, four for Crew SC). That was in stark contrast to the first encounter between these sides four weeks ago, a 2-2 draw that could’ve easily finished 4-4.
That was due – at least in part – to a shift in formation from Friedel, who deployed Jalil Anibaba, Antonio Delamea and Andrew Farrell as center backs, with Chris Tierney and Brandon Bye operating as wingbacks. The move was designed to limit the space Crew SC fullbacks Harrison Afful and Milton Valenzuela could find on the flanks, and it largely worked.
“In the first game in Columbus, I think their outside backs got a lot of the ball and [played] a pretty vital role in the game,” said Bye. “We wanted to counter that with our style of play today. I thought we did it well enough, but obviously we were looking to win, and we didn’t get that done today.”
Without top chance creator Diego Fagundez (suspended for yellow-card accumulation) the Revs struggled to generate a sustained attack, while a lack of sharpness at decisive moments proved too much for the hosts to overcome against Crew SC, who’ve now kept four straight clean sheets.
“I think we were a little sloppy on the ball,” said Scott Caldwell. “In terms of the formation and being prepared to face this Columbus team, we were ready. I thought it worked well. We’ve just got to be better in those moments.”
Frustration set in for the Revs in the late stages as what looked a legit penalty appeal was waved away, but Friedel’s side will need to have short memories as they look ahead to next weekend’s trip to Vancouver, which kicks off a hectic three-games-in-eight-days stretch.
“Luckily two of those three are at home,” said goalkeeper Matt Turner. “Like we always harp on, can’t lose two in a row, so we’ll go to Vancouver fully expecting to get a good result.”
