Shuttleworth Stands Tall in Loss
- Updated: March 16, 2015
Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz
NEW YORK – All a team can ask of its goalkeeper is to give them a chance to win. And that’s exactly what Bobby Shuttleworth was able to do for the Revolution on Sunday, despite the final score.
Shuttleworth made seven saves against a potent New York City FC attack led by David Villa, who made it habit of slipping into the box and testing the Revolution keeper throughout the match.
But even though Shuttleworth limited the damage inflicted by a Bronx side that outshot their guests to the tune of 20-11, longtime teammate Chris Tierney believes a key stop early on kept the match from becoming a blowout.
“It could’ve been a whole different game for us,” Tierney said. “There was that (Adam) Nemec chance early in the first half that, if they score early there, then it’s game over for us right away.”
Inside of six minutes, Andrew Jacobson picked off a pass from Jose Goncalves, and sent it forward to Villa. The Spanish International closed in on Shuttleworth before deferring to Nemec, who was staring at an open net. But the Revolution keeper reacted quickly and stopped Nemec’s shot with his right foot.
The early danger may have been averted, but Nemec’s early bid was a preview of coming attractions for Shuttleworth.
Villa terrorized the backline, and found no fewer than three opportunities to cash in. There was little Shuttleworth was able to do on Villa’s 19th minute goal, but proved himself more than capable on two other defensive breaches the New York City captain was able to exploit.
“It was just a couple of times he gets in there,” Shuttleworth said. “I’m trying to stand up as long as possible, kind of read his shape, and then just react to the ball.”
That ability to stand tall against a player who’s made many keepers crumble during his illustrious career kept the Revolution within a goal until the waning stages. While the attack was wasteful with the chances it found between the 20th and 45th minutes, Shuttleworth kept his end of the bargain by denying Villa & Co. time after time.
Even after the Revolution went down to 10 men after Jose Goncalves’ 67th minute red card, Shuttleworth continued to hold his ground, only to watch Patrick Mullins escape his mark on a far post run to put the dagger into any chance of a late comeback.
“Bobby stood his ground, and made a couple of really good saves,” Revolution coach Jay Heaps said immediately after the match. “I have to go back and look at it and find out how many.”
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