Shuttleworth Back in Town
- Updated: March 26, 2017
Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – After spending eight seasons in New England, there’s no doubt Saturday’s match must have felt surreal to Minnesota United keeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
Nearly two months after he was traded to Minnesota for Femi Hollinger-Janzen, the 30-year-old keeper was back in the Bay State facing enemy fire from some of his closest friends.
“It was a bit of an odd feeling at first,” Shuttleworth told NESoccerToday.com. “But once the game got going, it was fine, it was normal, we were just playing.”
In only his second start with the Loons, Shuttleworth faced 15 shots from his former teammates, and in front of a backline that’s been politely described as porous, conceded five goals in a 5-2 loss to New England.
To be fair, two of the Revolution’s goals came from the spot, which put the former Revolution keeper right in the line of fire against two longtime teammates in Lee Nguyen and Chris Tierney.
While Shuttleworth may have seen hundreds of penalties from both over the years in training, he admitted that the prospect of stopping Tierney – who typically doesn’t take spot kicks – was still very much a challenge.
“At that point, it’s just trying to get a feel for it and try to get to the corner,” Shuttleworth said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t go the right way. He finished it well.”
The optics of Shuttleworth defending shots from Nguyen, Tierney and Juan Agudelo were certainly odd, to say the least. But the veteran keeper knew a move was coming after he lost his starting spot to Brad Knighton last summer, a time in which the club also acquired current starter Cody Cropper.
However, Shuttleworth was surprised about one aspect of the trade that sent him Minnesota.
“I thought the time (for a trade) had come and gone,” Shuttleworth said of the trade, which occurred mid-way through the preseason. “But I wasn’t surprised they were looking to make a move. There wasn’t a conversation that happened, but I could get a feel that it was going to happen.”
Despite the way his Revolution career came to a close, Shuttleworth left town as one of the team’s most popular players. To wit: during pre-game warmups, a reel of his biggest saves was played on the video board at Gillette Stadium, and was greeted by warm applause by the early arrivals.
“I had eight good seasons here, so I was grateful to the club, and my teammates for my time here,” Shuttleworth said. “I’m not the type of person to hold a grudge. I was grateful for this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to this season playing in Minnesota.”
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