Revs’ skid hits 4 with stunning loss
FOXBORO — The Revolution gave a spirited effort last night, fitting for the day after the nation’s birthday and worthy of the postgame fireworks.
But some crucial secondhalf bounces went the wrong way, including a penalty kick by New York’s Daniel Royer and a 90th-minute goal by substitute Gonzalo Veron, enabling the Red Bulls to escape with a 3-2 victory at Gillette Stadium.
The Revs’ 2-1 lead at halftime was promising given their 4-0-0 mark at home this season when leading after 45 minutes, but the game turned in the 55th minute. Revs defender Gershon Koffie hooked ankles with Red Bulls midfielder Sean Davis at the top-right corner of the 18-yard box, and referee Silviu Petrescu handed the visitors a penalty kick. Royer hit the right side of the net as Revs keeper Cody Cropper guessed wrong on his dive to the left.
“I think it did (change the game),” Revs coach Jay Heaps said. “I didn’t think (the penalty) was the wrong call. I thought it was a silly challenge. I thought we had more critical chances, but in the moments that we needed to be good, we weren’t.”
Veron broke the hearts of the Gillette crowd with his late shot into the far side in the 90th minute. It was his first goal this season and gave the Red Bulls (8-8-2) a stunning lead. The Revs (5-9-5), who don’t play an MLS game again until July 22 at home against the Los Angeles Galaxy, now must find a way to snap a four-game losing streak. “Hopefully, it’s a lot of selfreflection and looks in the mirror,” Heaps said. “We don’t have a lot of margin for error. We have to be locked in.”
The Revs took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute when Diego Fagundez, who missed Sunday’s 3-0 loss at Philadelphia because of a one-game league suspension for violent conduct, controlled the ball nicely while crossing the front. Fagundez slipped a short rolling pass to Teal Bunbury, who beat Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles from in close at the right post. It was the first goal of the season for Bunbury.
The lead was short-lived. Red Bulls top scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips, last year’s MLS Golden Boot winner with 24 goals, collected the ball in traffic and boomed a blast that caromed off the crossbar and into the net in the 23rd minute. It was Wright-Phillips’ ninth goal this season.
But the Revs did not slow down. Fagundez once again proved he is approaching elite status in MLS when he deftly dribbled through a pair of defenders and sent the ball to Lee Nguyen near the left post. Robles dove to his right in vain as Nguyen chipped his shot home in the 26th minute. It was the seventh goal of the season for Nguyen, who is tied with forward Juan Agudelo for the team lead. Agudelo and versatile Kelyn Rowe both missed last night’s game because of U.S. national team duties.
“The way we were playing, it wasn’t the same team that stepped on the field in the second half. Including myself, we all have to do everything we can to get better,” Fagundez said. “We were fighting. We did everything that we could, but it wasn’t enough. It was like a punch in the mouth.’’
Nguyen chipped a ball to Kei Kamara, who headed it back toward the front where a hard-charging Scott Caldwell sent a shot over the frame in the 67th minute. Bunbury had a subsequent bid in the 78th minute but couldn’t work the ball past Robles.