New England Soccer Today

Better Late Than Never

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Je-Vaughn Watson unlocked a scoreless match late to send the New England Revolution to a 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

Watson’s header in the 85th minute beat Sean Johnson to put the Revolution ahead after the Fire keeper made a number of impressive saves to frustrate the hosts up until that point. It was Watson’s second goal in as many games after he scored in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup win over Philadelphia.

The hosts found opportunities to get the jump on the cellar-dwelling Fire. New England outshot their foes 7-3 before the break, with long blasts from Kelyn Rowe and Lee Nguyen serving as strong opportunities to break through.

Although their attack was generally lackluster, Chicago nearly pulled the rug from under the Revolution in the 57th minute when Jose Goncalves nearly knocked a David Accam cross into his own net before Bobby S huttleworth thwarted it with a spring-heeled save.

Second-half substitute Diego Fagundez gave a shout for goal when he and uncorked a curling shot from 25 yards that forced a diving save from Sean Johnson. Fagundez made Johnson work again in the 84th minute on a well-hit effort that rocketed right at the Fire keeper.

With the win, the Revolution extended their modest unbeaten run to three (2-0-1) while the Fire were unable to get their first road win since 2014.

The Revolution return to action on Sunday, Jul. 31 when they face Orlando City SC at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm. Earlier this season, the conference foes played a controversy-ridden 2-2 draw in Orlando that featured a pair of questionable calls late.

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