Late score soaks Revs
FOXBORO — A game which was hard fought to the end resulted in a late defeat for the Revolution when center back Lalas Abubakar headed home a corner kick in the 85th minute to give the Columbus Crew a 1-0 victory last night at Gillette Stadium.
The Crew extended their unbeaten streak to six matches (4-0-2), posting a fourth straight clean sheet to extend their shutout streak to 405 minutes.
The rain that fell all night intensified over the final 10 minutes as the field became slicker by the moment. Then, the Crew struck. Federico Higuain sent a corner delivery from the left side that found Abubakar free at the near post. The central defender’s header was powerful and on the mark, rasping past Revs keeper Matt Turner to send the Revs to their second home loss of the season in seven matches.
“I was not worried or felt in danger about losing the game, and then they make a sloppy goal off a set piece,” said a disappointed Revs coach Brad Friedel.
The Revs started on the right foot, as forward Teal Bunbury drilled a shot that forced Crew keeper Zack Steffens to dive to his right and deflect the bid. Columbus responded with Higuain missing the upper left corner in the ninth minute.
Emotions were a bit raw on the drizzly night when Revs midfielder Luis Caicedo knocked Crew defender Harrison Afful off his pins and drew a yellow card in the 13th minute.
The rain began to pick up, sending the hardy faithful heading for cover, even as sparkling newcomer Cristian Penilla sent a leftfooted blast toward Steffens while being marked closely. Bunbury made an excellent run in the 37th minute and blasted a curling shot that had Steffens diving to his left to deflect the bid as the rain began to abate.
Following the scoreless first half, Friedel went to his bench, lifting Kelyn Rowe and inserting Wilfried Zahibo into midfield.
“I thought in the first half the system paid dividends. Then in the second half we wanted Wilfried up high,” said Friedel, who made due without forwards Diego Fagundez (yellow card suspension) and Juan Agudelo (hamstring).
The Revs were forced to make a substitution in the 52nd minute when defender Antonio Delamea suffered a head injury. Claude Dielna took over in central defense.
The Crew had a pair of corner kicks in the 61st minute. Defender Chris Tierney blocked the first one out the back end and Turner punched the second corner try by Higuain away from danger. Tierney later hustled back to take the ball from substitute Cristian Martinez and thwart a threat just outside the 6-yard box in the 68th minute.
Afful matched Tierney’s earlier defensive gem when he cleared the ball 2 yards from the line in the 74th minute after a bid by Revs rookie Brandon Bye.
Revs sub Brian Wright had a great chance to earn a point in the 90th minute but couldn’t put his shot on frame.