HARRISON, N.J. – With a roster that featured heavy rotation with eight changes to the starting lineup, the New England Revolution took down the Montreal Impact, 3-2, on Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena.
A trio of goals from Kekuta Manneh, Teal Bunbury and Adam Buksa led the Revolution to victory, securing the club a third straight win away from home for the first time since 2008.
After New England conceded late in stoppage time, Buksa’s unassisted right-footed shot in the 52nd minute proved to be the game winner against Montreal, providing the Revs with the lead they needed to close out the win.
“Adam had a very good goal on an excellent pass from Diego [Fagundez],” said head coach Bruce Arena. “He held up pretty well. He fatigued at the end of the game, because his minutes have been limited.”
While Buksa has appeared in every Revolution game to date, the No. 9 has been in and out of the starting lineup in recent matches. His two most recent starts were three games apart on September 12 at the Philadelphia Union and then October 7. In a tough 1-0 loss against Toronto, the Polish striker stepped up to take a penalty to potentially level the score, but his powerful effort sailed over the crossbar.
But the 24-year-old didn’t let the missed attempt waver his confidence, and rather used it as an opportunity to improve for his next longer runout.
“Missing a penalty is still a part of the game,” said Buksa. “Obviously, I wanted to score the goal but it happened so you cannot think about one penalty for the rest of the year. I’m trying to focus on every upcoming game and that was the situation three days ago and today I was trying to do the best for the team.”
“I want to score goals but to perform well and I think last game against New York City and today against Montreal, both were good games. Even against Toronto, it was a good game and a good performance but just the penalty, it kind of didn’t confirm my good performance. I know I have to score goals and this is what you demand from a striker so I’ll take it.”
Buksa’s start against the Impact was the perfect opportunity to bounce back and demonstrate the quality he brings, and the striker truly grasped hold of it to make the most of the chance. His quality wasn’t only evident when he scored the game winner, but also when he played an instrumental role in setting up Manneh’s goal 13 minutes in.
Springing onto a loose ball after Matt Polster forced a turnover, Buksa unselfishly played a calm ball to unmarked Manneh, who put it away. It was unquestionably a smart choice by the striker, whose quick decision paired with his skill allowed the Revs to take an early lead.
Buksa continues to show he can provide quality all over the field.
“Well, I like pressing,” said Buksa. “I know that soccer nowadays is progressing more and more and strikers sometimes have to be the first defenders the same way defenders have to attack well. So this is part of my job, not only to score goals because I’m not saying it’s easy but it’s not enough simply.”
Buksa now has four goals on the 2020 season, and coincidentally the Revs are unbeaten (2-0-2) when he has scored. Buksa and the Revs will look to continue their momentum as they host the Philadelphia Union on Monday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. for a pivotal Eastern Conference battle.
