Revs’ Comeback Efforts Fall Short vs. Fire
- Updated: June 17, 2017
Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Offseason signing Antonio Delamea scored his first Revolution goal not long after the hour mark but it wasn’t enough as the surging Fire held on to secure a 2-1 victory on Saturday at Gillette Stadium.
Delamea tallied his debut strike in the 70th minute to pull the hosts within one after Nemanja Nikolic opened the scoring in the 18th minute to give the Fire a lead it extended in the 60th minute on a Luis Solignac goal.
With the loss, the Revolution dropped to 5-6-5 (20 points) while the Fire improved to 9-3-4 (31 points).
New England entered the match as one of the most potent first-half offenses, averaging 1.13 goals before the break, the second best figure in MLS behind Atlanta United (1.14).
That stat, however, mattered little on Saturday against a side as strong as the Fire.
Despite showing some early flashes, the Revolution had the rug pulled under them in the 18th minute when Nikolic raced onto a ball from Matt Polster and was initially denied by Cody Cropper before he slammed the rebound through.
To New England credit, they didn’t go quietly. At the half hour mark, Kelyn Rowe received a pass from Gershon Koffie, then played it through to Kei Kamara. The Revolution striker then crossed it far post for Diego Fagundez, who was in prime position to score but couldn’t steer it into the net.
Eight minutes later, Rowe ran into the area and blasted a shot that beat Matt Lampson but ultimately veered wide of the far post.
In the 49th minute, Lee Nguyen chipped it toward Fagundez, who blasted a shot that Lampson was quick to parry away to preserve the one-goal lead.
The situation worsened for the hosts at the hour mark when Nikolic sent it ahead to Michael De Leeuw, who put into front of Solignac to set up the score.
Despite the deficit, the Revolution found a way to pull one back not long after. In the 70th minute, Lee Nguyen put a ball into the box for Juan Agudelo, whose header fell to Delamea, who nodded it through to make it a game late.
The Revolution’s best chance to equalize arrived in the 82nd minute when Nguyen found Agudelo in the box before it fell to Teal Bunbury, who pushed it off the post.
Delamea, Kelyn Rowe, and Benjamin Angoua fired a barrage of shots following an 88th minute corner from Nguyen, but all three chances were blocked by Fire defenders.
The Revolution return to action for a rare Friday night tilt that will put them against Toronto FC at BMO Field. Kickoff is 8:00pm.
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