Shuttleworth Hauls in Piece of History
- Updated: March 21, 2016
Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz
On an afternoon in which he had to pick the ball out of his net three times, Revolution keeper Bobby Shuttleworth still found a way to make history on Sunday.
After referee Nima Saghafi awarded penalty kicks to the Union in the 45+2 and 78th minutes, Shuttleworth answered the bell to deny Ilsinho and Sebastian LeToux to become only the fourth MLS goalkeeper to make two penalty kick saves in one game.
“It’s one of those things,” Shuttleworth told the media after the match. “But there were plenty of times where I had the defenders bailing me out. I was just trying to stand up tall and that’s it.”
Shuttleworth, who made five saves in total on Sunday, was the highest-rated Revolution player according to whoscored.com. The seven-year veteran recorded an 8.59 rating, more than two full points higher than Lee Nguyen, who boasted the next-best rating among Revolution starters with a score of 6.51.
Additionally, Shuttleworth became the first Revolution keeper to make a pair of penalty stops in the same game since Matt Reis shut the door twice against the Columbus Crew during the 2004 conference semifinals.
While Reis’ former apprentice may have etched his name in the record books on Sunday, the scoreline marked the second time in three games that the Revolution conceded a trio of goals.
Despite the lowlights, Shuttleworth believed that the events at Talen Energy Stadium could’ve gone very differently had it not been for a couple unlucky bounces.
“I thought, for the most part, we were in control,” Shuttleworth said. “I think the first one, it was just unfortunate reacting to the first shot Jose’s trying to close down and it takes a deflection.
“The second one’s pretty similar where it’s a cross, and I have it saved, but it takes a nick off Jose, and it carries a little bit farther.”
C.J. Sapong’s goals in the 18th and 33rd minutes may have put the Revolution in an early deficit, but the Revolution nearly answered back. Lee Nguyen fired a 25-yard free kick that smacked each post before rolling right to keeper Andre Blake.
Any hopes of a comeback were effectively thwarted for good moments later when Je-Vaughn Watson was issued a red card for a two-footed tackle on Ilsinho.
While Revolution coach Jay Heaps didn’t have a problem with the ejection, he did take issue with the way Saghafi – who was officiating his first MLS match on Sunday – put his keeper directly in the line of fire not once, but twice.
“I faulted (Saghafi) for the two penalty kicks, quite frankly,” Heaps said. “One right in front of us, the breeze was blowing harder than (Ilsinho) got touched. And the one in the second half was textbook, you don’t do it.”
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