The New England Revolution scored their fastest goal of the season but was forced to settle for a draw after Toronto FC equalized during first half stoppage time. Diego Fagundez and Andrew Wiedeman exchanged goals in the opening half before physical, sloppy play ruined the second.
Fagundez scored his team-leading ninth goal of the year when he tapped in a Kelyn Rowe cross in the second minute. The goal provided an instance of role reversal since Toronto FC had scored in the same minute when they traveled to Gillette Stadium.
“Scoring early can be a good thing and it was for us early on and if we were able to continue to play the same way we did in the first 15 minutes we would have been alright,” commented head coach Jay Heaps.
The Revs continued to threaten Toronto’s goal during the game’s opening stanza. Fagundez nearly doubled the lead in the fifth minute but Joe Bendik denied the far post shot. Juan Agudelo had a shout for a penalty kick when he was shoved by Doniel Henry in the 24th minute. Rowe almost scored in his third straight game when he fired a long-range shot just wide of the goal in the 36th minute.
The Revolution’s missed opportunities came back to haunt them when Wiedeman converted a Henry pass in the 37th minute. The goal came during a hectic period inside the Revs’ box where the ball was never fully settled. The Revs had a realistic appeal for a handball since Chris Tierney’s clearance looked to have struck Steven Caldwell’s hand.
“It wasn’t the prettiest but it went in the net,” recalled Wiedeman. “It kind of just pinged around and fell to me with the whole net in front of me so I couldn’t really miss that one too bad.”
The possession battle was lively in the second half as the Revs and Toronto struggled to hold the ball and string together passes. Both teams ended with a passing completion rate of 77%. It should be noted that the midfield trio of Lee Nguyen, Scott Caldwell and Rowe finished below the average, in large part because of the onslaught of rain and the physical play.
When asked about the game’s physicality, AJ Soares said, “It’s just soccer, you know. It’s raining, that’s how that team plays. We’re on their home field and we stood up a fought hard.”
Referee Fotis Bazakos made his presence known in the second half as he handed out six cautions while making some controversial decisions. The Revolution’s biggest complaint came when Dimitry Imbongo appeared to have been tugged down in the penalty box but Bazokas decided to played on. Toronto FC felt hard done in the 88th minute when Caldwell’s header was disallowed because of an apparent infraction.
“I think he knew that he made the wrong decision,” Caldwell said of his disallowed goal. “We’re all human, we all make mistakes. It’s just bitterly disappointing that in such a tight game.”
The game would end 1-1 which means that the Revs are now winless at BMO Field after seven tries. The result did improve the Revolution to 37 points and a record of 10-9-7.
The Revs will return home to have an extended break before facing the Montreal Impact on Sunday, September 8th.
Three Observations and Revelations
1. Getting a second goal could’ve opened the floodgates. Last week, Union players argued that the complexion of the game could’ve been changed if Conor Casey’s goal wasn’t disallowed. This week, the Revs can argue that the final outcome could’ve been different if the Revs got a second goal. A one-goal lead is dangerous for the Revolution, who has only won by a single goal on two occasions. The squad looked good in the opening minutes and a putting away a second goal was certainly an achievable objective.
2. The most disappointing aspect of Friday’s game was Agudelo’s apparent injury. The Revs will surely be upset that they didn’t capture full points against one of the worst teams in MLS. However, losing Agudelo would be more detrimental to the team’s playoff ambitions than the two squandered points. It’s been repeatedly noted that Agudelo makes this team better. The youngster has sparked the offense while helping the team to a record of 5-1-2. Perhaps one of the most interesting stats regarding Agudelo is that the Revs have scored six of their eight first half goals when he was on the field. No news has come out about Agudelo’s injury but the Revs will hope it’s nothing major.
3. The Revs needed to get wide more. Like most teams that experience success against the Revolution, Toronto congested the middle of the field as a way of trying to neutralize Rowe, Nguyen and Caldwell. To combat this, Heaps should have asked his players to get wide more often. When looking back at the Revs most successful moments on Friday, they typically came when the team used the flanks on a fast break. Tierney provided Fagundez and Agudelo with prime first half opportunities by moving the ball quickly on the periphery. With this mind, Ryan Guy, who didn’t make the trip, could’ve been a decent option. A more feasible move would have been shifting Imbongo forward and Agudelo to the flank.
(image courtesy of Kari Heistad)
