New England Revolution beat Columbus Crew 2-1 as defense shines
By Tommy Butler
The New England Revolution increase their home unbeaten streak to 10 games with 2-1 win over Columbus Crew.
Yet again the New England Revolution showed that having the biggest numbers on the stat board has nothing to do with the final score.
In the same form as the rest of the season the Revs’ attack was strong and quick. The attack style is good for counter-attacking but also puts pressure on the defense.
Despite the team only having 35 percent of the possession the Revs’ defense picked up the slack. By the end of the match the Revs cleared the ball 38 times, 32 times more than the Crew.
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The Revolution also only managed nine shots to the Crew’s 14. The Crew’s shots were much more rushed however as they only managed to put five on goal as the Rev’s had four.
Order of Events
My prediction in the preview article would have been correct if Kekuta Manneh‘s goal in the fifth minute hadn’t been called offside. Good thing for the Revs that it was though.
The Columbus Crew took an early lead off of Ola Kamara‘s volley 19 minutes in. It would be their only lead in the match, and It wouldn’t last long.
Just five minutes later the Revs steal the ball near midfield. A beautiful display of passing excellence lead to Diego Fagundez tapping in the equalizer on Kei Kamara‘s cross.
Thirty-three minutes in Fagundez notched his second goal, embarrassing Crew defenders on a solo run.
No more goals were scored but Columbus took multiple shots on goal, desperately trying to tie the game back up.
The Revs’ keeper, Cody Cropper did a great job, making four saves including stopping this rocket to keep the lead late.
In the 93rd minute the Revolution’s hopes for the next match took a blow as defensive star Andrew Farrell was sent off.
Looking ahead
The win is huge for the Revolution who are three points closer to the playoff line. It’s also great news for fans as the team is heating up.
With Farrell picking up the last minute red card he will be suspended for the next game. It could be a big problem, seeing as Farrell acts as captain as well as leading the defense.
We’ll have to see if the team’s form can power through the big hole left by his absence.
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Next up the New England Revolution travel to New York to take on the Red Bulls on Saturday the 27th at 7:30pm EST.