Sandy, UT – In one of the most wildly entertaining matches in recent MLS memory, the New England Revolution (3-8-7, 16pts) battled to a 3-3 draw with hosts Real Salt Lake (7-3-6, 27pts) on Independence Day. The draw earned the Revolution their first ever point at the Rio Tinto Stadium, however given the circumstances in which the match played out, New England will take the point, but will rue the missed opportunity to take all three.
Revolution head coach Steve Nicol remained in the 4-5-1 formation to start, with Rajko Lekic once again the lone striker, backed up by the recently healthy Benny Feilhaber up the middle. The back four remained unchanged, as Darrius Barnes started once again at left-back for Dider Domi, who still has yet to recover fully from his injury.
The match was turned upside-down almost immediately, when a long goal kick from Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis in the 3rd minute somehow squirted through to an onside Feilhaber, who got behind the Real defense, and was taken down in the box from behind by RSL center-back Nat Borchers. Feilhaber was awarded a penalty kick, while Borchers was shown straight red for his tackle, reducing Real to 10 men with nearly 86 minutes left to play.
Rajko Lekic strode to the spot to take the resulting penalty, and the much-maligned Danish striker calmly, and ever-so-cheekily faked out Real goalkeeper Nick Rimando, and chipped the ball into the net to the opposite side. The goal was Lekic’s third of the season, and second in three matches, and it gave the Revolution an incredibly desired early lead.
Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis was forced into making an early substitution in the 9th minute, when he replaced Collen Warner with Chris Schuler, trying to give Real a more balanced 10 man squad. The move, however, didn’t have the exact desired effect, as evidenced by New England doubling their lead almost 8 minutes later through a Chris Tierney free kick. The kick came from the top of the Real box, and the left-footed Tierney fired a well driven shot that hugged the ground and managed to find enough space under the defensive wall and it found the right bottom corner passed a diving Rimando.
The hosts did manage to pull within a goal before halftime, when Real was awarded a free kick just to the outside left of the Revolution box. MLS journeyman Andy Williams stepped up to the free kick and curled a magnificently crafted ball to the top corner but it was stopped by both Reis and the goalpost, however the Revolution defense was caught ball-watching, and Will Johnson all-too-easily tapped in the rebound.
After a few close calls in the Revolution defensive third, the match hit the halftime mark with New England still up one goal, and one man on the field, however both advantages would be relinquished not soon after the second half began.
Real Salt Lake found their equalizer ten minutes after the second half whistle, when match referree Yader Reyes awarded the home side with a penalty kick after an apparent hand-ball by Revolution right-back Kevin Alston. The spot kick was taken by Alvaro Saborio, who froze Matt Reis in his track and buried the penalty into the bottom right corner, evening the match.
Much to their credit, New England managed to find a third goal just seven minutes later off of yet another set piece. Revolution midfielder Benny Feilhaber stepped up to take a medium-range free kick to the outside left of the Salt Lake box, and his resulting cross somehow found Shalrie Joseph amidst a sea of cobalt-clad defenders, and the Revs captain found the back of the net after his glancing header deflected off of the right post and into the net.
With a one-goal lead and only 24 minutes left to play, Revolution defender Ryan Cochrane committed a crucial defensive error when he fouled Andy Williams from behind by tugging on the Jamaican’s jersey. The foul earned Cochrane his second yellow card, and the match was then turned into a 10v10 affair, which seemingly ignited the Real Salt Lake team as well as their fans.
The match equalizer was finally found in the 83rd minute through second half substitute Fabian Espindola, after Saborio managed to retain possession at the top of the box, fought off two defenders, and slotted a great through pass to Espindola, who buried the chance and tied the match.
The match ended at 3-3, giving both sides a hard-fought point, although each side felt incredibly differently about the draw. New England certainly will feel they missed a huge opportunity to not only earn three points, but to give themselves a bit of a statement game to build from, while Real Salt Lake will unquestionably revel in their gutsy, come-from-behind performance.
New England now returns home to Foxboro for a July 13th meeting with European juggernauts and 19-time Premier League champion, Manchester United. The match is part of the HerbaLife World Football Challenge, pitting some of the top clubs from around the World against MLS competition, as well as each other. The next league fixture for New England, comes on the following Sunday, when they host Easter Conference rival Philadelphia Union.
*********************************
New England Revolution at Real Salt Lake
July 4, 2011 – Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, Utah)
New England Revolution 3, Real Salt Lake 3
Scoring Summary:
NE – Rajko Lekic (penalty kick) 4
NE – Chris Tierney (unassisted) 16
RSL – Will Johnson (unassisted) 24
RSL – Alvaro Saborio (penalty kick) 56
NE – Shalrie Joseph (Benny Feilhaber) 63
RSL – Fabian Espindola (Alvaro Saborio, Jamison Olave) 83
New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Darrius Barnes (Kenny Mansally 46), A.J. Soares, Ryan Cochrane, Kevin Alston (Didier Domi 86), Chris Tierney, Benny Feilhaber, Shalrie Joseph ©, Pat Phelan, Sainey Nyassi (Zak Boggs 65), Rajko Lekic
Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Franco Coria, Ryan Guy, Zack Schilawski
STATS*: Shots: 7; Shots on Goal: 5; Saves: 10; Corner Kicks: 1; Offside: 1; Fouls Committed: 12
Real Salt Lake: Nick Rimando, Tony Beltran, Nat Borchers ©, Jamison Olave, Robbie Russell (Kyle Beckerman 46), Will Johnson, Collen Warner (Chris Schuler 9), Ned Grabavoy, Andy Williams, Alvaro Saborio, Luis Gil (Fabian Espindola 63)
Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Reynish, Jean Alexandre, Chris Wingert, Nelson Gonzalez
STATS*: Shots: 20; Shots on Goal: 13; Saves: 2; Corner Kicks: 4; Offside: 0; Fouls Committed: 14
* Note that all statistics are unofficial
Misconduct Summary:
RSL – Nat Borchers (ejection) 3
NE – Shalrie Joseph (caution) 13
NE – Ryan Cochrane (caution) 23
NE – Rajko Lekic (caution) 55
NE – Ryan Cochrane (caution) 67
NE – Ryan Cochrane (second caution/ejection) 67
RSL – Kyle Beckerman (caution) 85
RSL – Alvaro Saborio (caution) 93+
Team Records:
New England Revolution – 3-8-7, 16 pts.
Real Salt Lake – 7-3-6, 27 pts.
Referee: Yader Reyes
Assistant Referees: Peter Balciunas, Mike Kampmeinert
Fourth Official: Allen Chapman
Weather: Cloudy and 81 degrees
Attendance: 16,139
NOTES
With the draw, the Revs improved to 4-6-4 all-time against Real Salt Lake, including a 2-3-2 mark in matches played in Utah
The Revs’ three goals in the road match marked the first time that the team has scored three (or more) goals on the road since a 3-1 win at Kansas City on April 9, 2008
The Revs’ three goals marked just the third time this season the team scored more than one goal in a game, and the first time since April 23 in a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City at home
This was also the first game this year in which the Revs scored more than one goal on the road, and the first multiple-goal game away from Gillette Stadium since Oct. 10, 2010, in a 2-1 win at Houston
Shalrie Joseph became just the second player in Revolution history to play 20,000 minutes with the team … he entered the game with 19,946 minutes played, and by playing into the 54th minute, Joseph reached the 20,000-minute mark … Jay Heaps (21,619 minutes) is the club’s all-time minutes played leader
Chris Tierney returned to the lineup at left midfield after missing the team’s last game – at Seattle on June 26 – with a left foot contusion … Ryan Guy, who started in his place against the Sounders, returned to the bench
Rajko Lekic’s successful penalty attempt in the fourth minute marked the first time since 2009 that a Revolution player other than Shalrie Joseph had stepped to the spot for the Revolution … Steve Ralston went 4-for-4 in 2009, before Joseph took over primary PK duties for the team later that season and into 2010 and 2011
Rajko Lekic’s successful penalty kick was the second penalty kick drawn this season by Benny Feilhaber … he also drew the Revs’ PK chance on May 14 at home against Vancouver, which was successfully converted by Shalrie Joseph
Rajko Lekic’s goal was the Revs’ first-ever at Rio Tinto Stadium … the team had been held scoreless in their first two visits in 2009 and 2010
With his caution in the 13th minute, Shalrie Joseph picked up his fifth caution of the season and will be forced to sit the Revs’ next league match – on Sunday, July 17 against Philadelphia – while serving a mandatory one-game yellow-card accumulation suspension
Chris Tierney scored his second goal of the season and his second directly off a free kick … he previously scored straight off a free kick at San Jose on May 21 … the goal was Tierney’s third of his career overall
When Kenny Mansally came into the game at the half, he moved into the left midfield spot and Chris Tierney moved back to left back
Shalrie Joseph scored his fifth goal of the season with his redirected header off Benny Feilhaber’s free kick in the 63rd minute … it was his first goal since May 14 against Vancouver, a span of eight games
Joseph’s five goals mark his third-highest season goal production in his MLS career, behind his eight goals (in 27 games) in 2009, and six goals (in 31 games) in 2005
Benny Feilhaber recorded his third assist as a member of the Revolution, and his second in as many games
With his two yellow cards in tonight’s game, Ryan Cochrane will also miss the July 17 match against Philadelphia while serving his mandatory one-game yellow-card accumulation suspension
With Ryan Cochrane’s ejection, Pat Phelan dropped back into central defense, leaving the Revs in a 4-4-1 formation
When Didier Domi came into the game in the 86th minute, he moved into the left back position and Chris Tierney then moved to right back for Kevin Alston
Didier Domi’s appearance was his first since June 10, when he started at left back against New York
Matt Reis made 10 saves on the night, one shy of his career high – 11 against Kansas City on July 11, 2009
With the draw, the Revs are now winless in their last eight games (0-5-3) … the eight-game winless stretch is the second-longest in club history, one game shy of the club-record nine-game winless streak in 2009 (0-9 between May 13 and July 1)
With the draw, the Revs moved to 0-6-3 in away games this season … the last game in which the team picked up a point on the road was at Vancouver on April 6
The draw also extended the team’s winless streak in games played in the Mountain and Pacific times zones to 14 games, dating back to September 2009 (0-10-4)
With the 3-3 score line, the Revs have now been out-scored by a combined line of 14-3 in their three visits to Rio Tinto Stadium (6-0 loss in 2009 and 5-0 loss in 2010)
Tonight’s game was the team’s 12th match against Western Conference opponents this season – in 18 games
After tonight’s match, the Revs will have a bye weekend in the schedule next weekend, before playing a friendly against Manchester United on Wednesday, July 13, and returning to the MLS schedule on Sunday, July 17, against Philadelphia … both matches will be played at home
After tonight’s game, the Revs will play three of their next four league matches on the road with the only home game coming on July 17 against Philadelphia … the Revs will then play a midweek match on Wednesday, July 20 at D.C., before heading straight to Colorado to face the Rapids on Saturday, July 23
Recent Comments