New England Soccer Today

That’s a Wrap

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

The good news about Saturday’s match at Children’s Mercy Park? The Revolution didn’t lose by seven goals. The bad news? Another red card undermined their efforts.

Teal Bunbury scored early, but Krisztian Nemeth’s dismissal set the stage for another letdown in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City.

Bunbury collected his seventh goal of the season before Nemeth inexplicably elbowed former teammate Graham Zusi, prompting a call from the VAR in the 11th minute, and leaving his teammates shorthanded for nearly 80 minutes.

Kansas City took advantage not long after as Gerso Fernandes burst through to level it in the 16th minute. While the guests held off their foes for nearly half-an-hour, Kansas City found the go-ahead from Diego Rubio who scored in the 45th minute before adding another in the 57th minute.

With the loss, the Revolution stay in 35 points with a 10-14-5 mark. Saturday’s defeat also dropped them to 0-12-3 on the road. Only five games remain for the eighth-place squad, who now have a 97 percent chance of missing the postseason.

The Revolution entered the contest thankful for a clean slate following Wednesday’s 7-0 drubbing at Atlanta. And it appeared they had put that match out of their minds when Bunbury chipped Tim Melia for the opening goal in the fourth minute.

But it was clear the lesson from Wednesday’s loss was learned. During a stoppage in play, Nemeth casually backtracked in front of Zusi before he threw an elbow in the face of the Kansas City defender. Moments later, video assistant referee Jon Freeman called over referee Jorge Gonzalez, who then flashed a red card in Nemeth’s direction.

Predictably, the hosts stepped on the pedal with the man-advantage, and before the half was over, Rubio put his team ahead by tapping through a cross from Fernandes.

Down a man – and a goal – the Revolution went to a three-man backline for the second half as Chris Tierney was withdrawn in favor of Daigo Kobayashi.

But it was clear a comeback wasn’t in the cards by the time Rubio scored his second goal of the game in the 57th minute to eliminate any realistic chance of the Revolution getting a point from Saturday’s affair.

With their nightmare road swing over, the Revolution return to action on Saturday, Sept. 23 against Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is 5:00pm. The conference foes have split their season series 1-1, with the home team winning on each occasion.

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