Davies Double Dip Leads Revolution To MLS Cup Finals
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Davies put in both Revolution goals on the night, helping them advance to MLS Cup Finals for the first time since 2007. "I thought today, from the opening whistle, the number of times he got behind their defense and on both chances. Charlie Davies can score," Revolution coach Jay Heaps said when asked about the performance following the match.
Both teams created early chances with shots coming from Teal Bunbury for the Revolution and Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill for the Red Bulls. None of the chances had much chance of breaking through either goalkeeper.
The Red Bulls got the first good chance of the match when Henry made a great play to possess the ball in the Revs end and delivered a cross into the middle of the box. The cross appeared destined for the head of Cahill, but Bobby Shuttleworth came off his line to make a diving punch at the ball before it got to Cahill and end the threat.
While the Revs seemed to be sitting back, the attacking Red Bulls found the first score of the match in the 26th minute. A nice cross was put in by Thierry Henry and it found Tim Cahill. Cahill fought off Jose Goncalves and put the ball past Shuttleworth to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead in the game and tie the series 2-2 on aggregate with the Revs holding the 2-1 road goal advantage.
The Revs got their next chance in the 35th minute, but it was weak, floating shot from Jones that was easily handled by Robles.
The Red Bulls nearly found another goal in the 37th minute — this time off the head of Jamison Olave. The play started with a corner kick from Henry which fount its way to Eric Alexander. His shot attempt bounced in, but Olave was on the doorstep looking for a header. His header missed an open net just high, keeping the game 1-0 with a 2-2 aggregate tie.
The Revs were able to draw the game even and retake the aggregate lead in the 41st minute. The play was a beautiful set piece on a corner kick. Chris Tierney took the corner and left it short to Lee Nguyen. Nguyen delivered it right back to Tierney, who placed a cross from a better angle. The cross found Charlie Davies in the middle of the box, who got a head on it and pushed the goal past Robles. Tierney was credited with the assist on the goal which gave the Revs the aggregate lead, 3-2. Lee Nguyen was also credited with the assist, following a scoring change at halftime.
"I found the most of the time -- set pieces they left me unmarked," Davies said when asked about the goal. "Today I tried to exploit that. I got great balls from our midfielders and defenders so I was able to stretch the game."
The goal took the Revs and Red Bulls into the half tied 1-1 with the Revs leading 3-2 on aggregate. The Red Bulls held the slight possession advantage through 45 minutes, 51.9% to 48.1%. The Revolution did have the shots advantage, however. They out-shot New York 6-4 with a 2-1 advantage in shots on target.
The Revolution got the first good chance out of the half when Charlie Davies ripped a shot in the 49th minute. Davies got the feed from Lee Nguyen on a back-heel but pushed the shot wide right.
The Red Bulls answered with a great effort of their own, nearly finding the net in the 52nd minute. The play was a great free kick delivery from Henry which found the head of Peguy Luyindula. The header just barely went over the crossbar.
It was just moments later that Luyindula found the net, however. The ball was served into the box where it bounced off Revolution defender Andrew Farrell. The ball sat in front of the net off the deflection and Peguy was the first one to get to it, putting it past Shuttleworth. The goal gave the Red Bulls a 2-1 lead and tied the series 3-3 on aggregate. The goal eliminated the Revs’ away goal advantage.
The Red Bulls nearly found another goal in the 66th minute, but missed a golden opportunity. Henry put another great cross into the box and found Cahill all alone. Cahill ripped a shot from in close but sailed it over the open net.
After some intense back-and-forth action between both teams the Revolution were able to draw the match even and retake the aggregate lead in the 70th minute, and it was the combination of Chris Tierney and Charlie Davies again. Tierney received a good feed from Scott Caldwell before delivering a perfect cross into the box where Davies was waiting to put home his second goal of the match. The goal leveled the match at 2-2 and gave the Revs the 4-3 lead on aggregate. The assists on the goal went to both Caldwell and Tierney — the second of the game for Tierney.
The Red Bulls nearly brought the series even in the 89th minute when Henry broke free and appeared to be on the receiving end of a beautiful cross. It was Bobby Shuttleworth, however, who came off his line and poked the ball free just moments before Henry could connect with both players colliding as the ball was cleared. "I saw the cross coming in," Shuttleworth said when asked about the play. " saw [Henry] was by himself. So at that point I just try to keep myself big."
The emotions boiled over in stoppage time as brawl nearly broke out between Lloyd Sam and Jose Conclaves, but the Revolution held on and will move on to the MLS Cup Finals. The series win gave the Revolution their first Eastern Conference Championship since 2007.
"Words can't describe it, for me," Davies said following the win. He will be heading to his first MLS Cup Finals as the Revs get back for the first time since 2007.
Related Slideshow: MLS Eastern Conference Championship: New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls
_400_323_90.jpg)
_400_267_90.jpg)
Loud & Proud
Nguyen-Ter Is Coming
Racing Up The Field
Fighting for Possession
Jones from Distance
Tierney Rips A Shot
Davies Sneaks A Shot Through
Embracing The Noise
Team Celebration
Number One
Preparing His Team
Controlling The Middle
Defensive Help
Looking For The Nguyen
Beating The Defense
Physical Battle
Game Winner_80_80_90_c1.jpg)
Pure Joy
Confetti Angels
Love From The Coach
Hugging The Hero
Hoisting The Cup
Captain's Cup_80_80_90_c1.jpg)
Embracing The Moment
Deja Vu
Embracing The Crowd
Jones Celebrating In The Fort
_80_80_90_c1.jpg)
_80_80_90_c1.jpg)
Delivered Free Every
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It