Davies, Revolution Run Rampant Through Crew—Win 4-2

Saturday, November 01, 2014

Matthew LaPan, GoLocalWorcester Sports Writer

The New England Revolution took to the road for the first leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup with the Columbus Crew, Saturday. It was a cold, windy day in Ohio that featured an old school, black and blue Eastern conference feel – but the Revolution brought some new school scoring to the equation and took the first leg of the series 4-2.

The 4-2 victory was even more important that it would have been in other years with the new MLS away scoring tiebreaker.

The Revs got going early as Jermaine Jones showed he was ready for the playoffs by forcing a turnover before starting a solo run and unleashing a shot. The shot sailed wide, but the Revs showed fresh legs right from the start of the game.

Columbus was able to create a weak chance on a free kick before the Revolution came back with a terrific chance off the foot of Charlie Davies. Davies received a good pass from Teal Bunbury and tried a back heel towards the net, but was unable to convert on the chance.

The Revolution kept their steady attack on the Crew with two fantastic chance in the 17th minute. The first off the foot of Andrew Farrell, but Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark made an amazing save on Farrell. The save deflected out to Jones, who had his attempt on an open goal blocked.

New England continued the 1st half onslaught when Charlie Davies made a great turn and put a shot on target, but the shot was easily saved by Clark.

The Crew finally got a good chance in the 26th minute on a free kick from Federico Higuaín. The dangerous free kick taker made Bobby Shuttleworth thing, but put the kick over the bar and out.

That attack helped spring the Crew offense as just three minutes later Justin Meram nearly gave the Crew the lead. Meram blasted a shot from the left side and snuck it past Shuttleworth but hit the crossbar and bounced off the goal line before being cleared.

The Revs were able to answer in the 37th minute when Kelyn Rowe delivered a great set piece into the box where Charlie Davies put a diving header into the goal to give the Revs a 1-0 lead and a valuable road goal. It was Davies first career playoff goal and his first goal in any competition since September 7.

That huge goal led the Revs into the half with an important 1-0 lead.

The Revs took that momentum into the 2nd half as Teal Bunbury got two amazing chances in the 50th minute, but Clark made back-to-back saves to preserve the 1-0 score.

The Crew, however, could not hold the Revs off for long. The Revs were able to find their 2nd goal in the 51st minute off a free kick from Chris Tierney. Tierney lined-up over the ball before unleashing a shot into the upper corner of the net, out of the reach of Clark.

Both teams traded shots, but the Crew were the next to find the goal. The goal came from Meram in the 64th minute on a stunning shot that Shuttleworth was unable to get to. The goal cut the lead to 2-1, but the Crew goal did not kill the Revolution momentum.

The Revs regained their two-goal advantage in the 77th minute when their MVP candidate, Lee Nguyen. Nguyen opened space with a good run through the middle before hammering home another goal and giving the Revolution the 3-1 lead.

The Revs continued their offensive explosion when Charlie Davies found the net for the 2nd time in the 78th minute. Davies made a good turn and shielded the ball from two defenders before taking an off-balanced shot that bounced off the far post and into the net for a stunning 4-1 road lead. Davies became the first Revolution player to ever score two goals in a playoff game.

Davies claimed after the game that it was his first goal from outside the box since his nearly career-ending car crash.

Columbus was able to pull slightly closer in the aggregate goal count when they were awarded a penalty off a hand ball in the box from Jose Goncalves in the 93rd minute. Federico Higuaín netted the ensuing penalty in the 94th minute to make the score 4-2 Revs.

The win gives the Revs a huge advantage in the aggregate goal count, as they take a 4-2 lead into next Sunday’s second leg at Gillette Stadium.