New England Soccer Today

Late Goal Sinks Revs at Home

Photo credit: J. Alexander Dolan

A 90th-minute game-winner from Gonzalo Veron sent the reeling Revolution to a devastating 3-2 home loss to the Red Bulls at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday.

Veron tallied right before second half stoppage time after receiving a well-weighted through ball from Felipe and tucking it into the back corner of the net to unlock a level match.

Teal Bunbury, who hadn’t tallied in league play since last August, opened the scoring in the 21st minute, moments before Bradley Wright-Phillips hollered right back with a blast in the 23rd minute. But it didn’t stay level for long after Lee Nguyen reclaimed the lead in the 26th minute. New York had the final say when Danny Royer struck from the spot in the 56th minute.

Wednesday’s loss extended the Revolution’s rut to four, keeping them on 20 points (5-9-5) for over a month. The Red Bulls’ win saw them go to 26 points with an 8-8-2 mark.

Antonio Delamea (concussion) returned to the lineup sporting a clear face mask, as did Diego Fagundez (suspension) to bolster a selection that suffered a three-goal thumping at Philadelphia on Sunday. But the Revolution remained without Kelyn Rowe and Juan Agudelo due to national team duties.

But even without two of their best attacking players, New England figured out a way to get an early jump on their longtime nemesis. After absorbing some early pressure, Fagundez found an opening and dribbled along the edge of the area before deferring to Bunbury, who pushed his shot past Luis Robles in the 21st minute.

Bunbury’s goal didn’t stand for long, though. Two minutes later, Wright-Phillips rifled a shot from outside the box that beat Cody Cropper to make it a level match.

The scoring spree continued in the 26th minute when the Revolution reclaimed the lead. This time, Fagundez gave it a hit from 12 yards that Robles initially denied before the rebound spilled to Nguyen, who chipped it into the net.

The Revolution’s fortunes took a hit after halftime when Gershon Koffie fouled Sean Davis just inside the box, paving the way for Royer’s penalty strike in the 56th minute.

New England nearly got the go-ahead in the 79th minute when Bunbury drove alone at Robles before attempting to cross it for Kei Kamara at the far post. But Damien Perrinelle made a late recovery to clear the ball out of harm’s way.

Just when the prospect of a disappointing home draw appeared to be coming to fruition for the hosts, New York drove a dagger into New England when Veron latched onto Felipe’s pass and buried it in front of a stunned Foxboro crowd.

The Revolution and Red Bulls will renew acquaintances next week when they meet at Harvard University for a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal tie on Jul. 13. Kickoff is 7:30pm. The Revolution resume league play on Jul. 22 when they host Jermaine Jones and the LA Galaxy.

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