Losing Streak Snapped

By Brian O'Connell
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Updated: July 18, 2015

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Lee Nguyen’s early strike allowed the Revolution to put an end to their lengthy losing streak in Saturday’s 1-0 win over a short-handed New York City FC side at Gillette Stadium.

Nguyen scored in the 12th minute after a nifty give-and-go between Daigo Kobayashi and Diego Fagundez set up the shifty midfielder for the opening strike.

New York City went down to 10 men in the 54th minute when Ned Grabavoy unleashed a studs-up challenge on Daigo Kobayashi and was sent off for the transgression.

The guests made a last-gasp bid for the equalizer seconds into stoppage time on a shot from Chris Wingert that backup goalkeeper Brad Knighton collected inside the six.

Saturday’s win was the first recorded against the expansion New York City, which beat the Revolution 2-0 in their first encounter on Mar. 15 at Yankee Stadium.

With the win, the Revolution’s losing streak ends at five, the longest in MLS this year. It was their first victory since a 2-0 win over the Chicago Fire on Jun. 13. The loss for New York City kept them out of the win column for the second straight week.

Quick analysis: Well, the opening moments were certainly a lot better than what we’ve seen from the Revolution over the last two weeks. Not only did they seize an early lead, but they were able to stay motivated and protect the advantage, something they failed to do all too often over during their two-month slump. Of course, the Revolution’s efforts weren’t hurt when Grabavoy was sent off in the 55th minute to leave the locals with the man-advantage for only the second time this season. Nevertheless, the energy and commitment to the attack rarely waned, which in and of itself was an improvement from the scenes witnessed at Toyota Stadium and Red Bull Arena. Whether Saturday’s win steers the Revolution out of their their summertime slide will certainly be the storyline going into next week’s game at Chicago.

Four changes to the Revs’ XI: Revolution coach Jay Heaps made four changes to his lineup, the most noticeable one between the sticks as Brad Knighton got the start over Bobby Shuttleworth, who suffered a concussion in training earlier in the week. Additionally, Jeremy Hall took over at right back as London Woodberry slid centrally for the suspended Jose Goncalves. Meanwhile, Daigo Kobayashi and Diego Fagundez both returned to the XI, replacing Andy Dorman and Juan Agudelo, respectively.

Rare early lead: Lee Nguyen’s 12th minute goal gave the Revolution their first lead since Jun. 24, when the locals took an immediate lead in the first minute at Columbus. Interestingly, it was Nguyen who scored that opening goal against the Crew.

Record crowd on hand: Saturday’s match was played before a season-high 28,811 at Gillette Stadium, which shattered the mark set on May 16 against Toronto, a game which saw a crowd 24,269.

Next up: The Revolution return to action on Jul. 25 when they face the Chicago Fire at Toyota Stadium. Revolution fans will recall that the Fire were the last foe the locals beat prior to Saturday’s win.