New England Soccer Today

Revs Settle for 1-1 Draw to Reds

Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com

Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Kelyn Rowe struck early, but Sebastian Giovinco punched back in the second half as the Revolution and Toronto FC battled to a 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

Rowe tallied in the 14th minute after nodding through a Je-Vaughn Watson cross to put the hosts ahead before halftime. But Giovinco, who had never scored against New England prior to Saturday, equalized in the 58th minute after Jozy Altidore took advantage of a defensive breakdown before deferring to the reigning MVP inside the 18.

With the draw, the Revolution go to 1-1-4 (7 points) while the Reds go 1-2-2 (five points).

An injury to Revolution winger/striker Juan Agudelo kept him from making the gameday roster. Teal Bunbury got the start at the forward’s spot for the hosts while Charlie Davies took a seat on the substitute’s bench.

The locals wasted no time announcing their intentions. Lee Nguyen nearly put the Revolution ahead inside of two minutes when Rowe hit a short pass inside for Nguyen who tried to flick it over Irwin, who made the emergency stop.

Not long after, it was Rowe who got on the scoring end of a well-placed ball from Watson to open the account in the 14th minute to put the Reds in an early deficit.

New England looked to build upon that lead early in the second half on a pair of hard shots from Bunbury and Chris Tierney in the 47th and 48th minutes, respectively.

While the Revolution were plotting that second goal, Toronto took advantage of a defensive breakdown. Following a pair of non-calls that the Revolution felt should’ve been whistled, Altidore latched onto a Will Johnson long ball and raced into the final third before sending it short to Giovinco, who hit a shot that deflected off of Jose Goncalves before it settled into the back of the net in the 58th minute.

Davies eventually came off the bench in the second half, and tried to steer the Revolution to the go-ahead in the 90th minute when he barrelled through a pair of defenders before the ball fell forward to Rowe, who was unable to beat Clint Irwin.

A final bid for the winner came in stoppage time when Rowe crossed it far post for Femi Hollinger-Janzen, who centered it for Nguyen on the doorstep where the midfielder buried it. But Rowe’s cross carried over the line before Hollinger-Janzen’s pass, thus negating Nguyen’s would-be goal.

The Revolution return to action on Apr. 17 at the Orange Bowl where they’ll face Orlando City SC for the first time this season.

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