Shuttleworth Shuts the Door on New York
- Updated: April 2, 2016
Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The list of impressive games for Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth continues to grow after a strong performance against New York Red Bulls on Friday.
Shuttleworth collected his second five-save performance of the early season as New England picked up its first win of 2016, 1-0, over their Eastern Conference rivals. And even better for the Revs was that three of those stops came after Diego Fagundez put the home side ahead in the 55th minute.
It took less than a minute for Shuttleworth to be tested as Karl Ouimette played a long ball to the defending MLS Golden Boot winner Bradley Wright-Phillips but his shot was handled easily by the 28-year old keeper.
A collision in the 8th minute forced Shuttleworth to get some treatment to a cut over his right eye but he was able to stay in the game. He was tested just over 10 minutes later.
Mike Grella’s cross was deflected to the feet of Wright-Phillips near the top of the six but his shot was blocked by Jose Goncalves. The rebound forced the ball to the far post, sitting nicely for a charging Sal Zizzo, who ripped a low shot to the near post but Shuttleworth was quick to get down to the turf and parry the ball over the end line for a corner.
Shuttleworth, who had 13 saves on the season entering the match and the MLSSoccer.com “Save of the Week” for his diving stop of NYCFC superstar David Villa last Saturday, came up with three big saves in the second.
In the 60th minute, New York midfielder Felipe sent a long ball over the top of New England’s center backs. Wright-Phillips was able to race a step ahead of Goncalves and Andrew Farrell but as he was jockeying with the Revolution captain, Shuttleworth charged off his line and made a sliding stop right at the penalty spot to clear the danger.
“Tonight was great from Bobby,” Revolution head coach Jay Heaps said. “I love when Bobby makes a save when the game is [close]. Bobby makes great saves throughout the course of the season. But we’re really looking for Bobby to make those saves when it’s tied or we’re up 1-0 to preserve the three points or preserve a heavy draw on the road or something like that.
“That’s where I think his maturity is really getting better. He’s starting to make those saves in key games, in key moments to help us win. And that really was the difference tonight I thought Bobby making those saves.”
Three minutes later, Grella weaved his way through a trio of New England defenders to set up a shot from a step inside the area but his big was easily collected by Shuttleworth.
Shuttleworth’s final – and arguably most impressive save – came in the 81st minute with the 10-men Red Bulls pushing for an equalizer after Felipe’s red card in the 61st minute.
New York sub Sean Davis whipped in an out-swinging corner kick that midfielder Dax McCarty rose up and got a head to at the front post. McCarty’s header found the outstretched right boot of Wright-Phillips inside the six-yard box and after a touch to bring it square, Wright-Phillips tried to rifle it into the back of the net but Shuttleworth came across the face of goal, closed down perfectly and made the stop.
“He’s dangerous and scores a lot of goals,” Shuttleworth said of Wright-Phillips. “We went over a lot of tape and were told that we’ve got to be very wary of him and I think we did a great job tonight.”
Although it was the second shutout for New England this season, it was the first win of the 2016 campaign.
“It’s big,” Shuttleworth added. “We’ve talked a lot about once we score a goal being able to dig in and get a result and holding that lead. That’s exactly what we did tonight.”
Now through two games at Gillette Stadium and over 180 minutes of soccer, New England has yet to concede a goal.
“Jay talks about it all the time: we’ve got to make this place a fortress,” Shuttleworth said. “To be honest, the DC game we dropped points there. This is a big win for us and a stepping stone for us moving forward. It’s a long season but we have to continue to put in efforts like we did in the second half.”
Shuttleworth and New England will look to extend the home shutout streak when they host Toronto FC on Saturday, April 9th at 4:00 p.m.
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