Revs Win Streak Snapped, Fall 1-0 To Crew
Saturday, September 20, 2014
The Revolution started the game without Jermaine Jones, who was nursing an ankle/leg injury.
The Crew got action started in the 8th minute with Justin Meram firing off a shot. The lead-up to the play set the tone for the game as Andrew Farrell appeared to be fouled in the midfield, but no call was made. This led to a chippy, physical battle throughout the rest of the match.
The Revs got their first chance of the game in the 15th minute off the foot of Lee Nguyen. Nguyen was delivered the ball by Scott Caldwell, who was starting in place of Jermaine Jones, before he hammered a low shot to Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark's right. Clark was forced to make a diving save on the play.
The Revs stayed on the attack when Diego Fagundez got into the action in the 19th minute. Fagundez received a great through-ball from Lee Nguyen. Fagundez made a great stop to get by the defender before ripping a shot that nearly made it past Clark. The shot nearly made it through but hit Clark's foot and deflected just wide of the net.
The Crew came back and nearly found the net in the 30th minute, but were denied by Bobby Shuttleworth. The lead-up to the play was frantic, as the crew got a cross into the box, but no shot off before the Revs cleared the ball. The Crew regained possession after the clear and Tony Tchani lobbed another ball into the box. The ball found an open Eric Gehrig who delivered a strong header on target. The header was saved on a terrific save from Shuttleworth to keep the game scoreless.
The Crew were right back on the attack in the 34th minute. The Crew had a free kick from about 30-yards out, but Federico Higuain decided against the long shot and laid a pass down to Aaron Schoenfeld. Schoenfeld turned and ripped a shot that sent Shuttleworth diving, but missed the net wide to the left.
The Crew continued to control the pace of play when they nearly converted on a corner kick in the 38th minute. The corner kick was delivered by Higuain, and found Gehrig elevating above the defense. Gehrig hit another header and it hit the near post. That attempt was the last for either team in the half, as the Revolution were lucky to get out of tied at 0-0.
Following the half, Jermaine Jones entered the game for the Revolution off the bench, replacing Diago Kobayashi.
Just three minutes into the 2nd half, the Crew found the first goal of the match as Federico Higuain found the net on a terrific free kick. The free kick found the far right corner of the net with Shuttleworth making the diving save attempt. It was Higuain's 10th goal of the season.
The Revs nearly found an equalizer in the 55th minute on a great Diego Fagundez shot. Fagundez got the ball on a layoff from Kelyn Rowe, who did a great job winning a ball that was pushed forward by Jermaine Jones. Fagundez ripped a long-distance shot, but it curled wide of the near post.
In the 56th minute Chris Tierney subbed into the game. This was the first action for Tierney since being injured against the Columbus Crew on June 26.
The Revs, again, were looking for an equalizer in the 68th minute when Lee Nguyen took a free kick from outside the box. Diego Fagundez won the free kick when he was hit hard from behind. Nguyen placed a good kick on target but it was easily saved by Clark.
At this point, the game got extremely physical through the final 22 minutes.
The Revs were now controlling the pace of play, but they did not create any great chances for a while. In the 85th minute, the Crew had their chance to put the game away as they were awarded a penalty kick following an A.J. Soares penalty in the box. Higuain stepped into the box as one of the most feared penalty takers, but was denied by Bobby Shuttleworth. Shuttleworth made the terrific diving save before the Revs cleared the ball, keeping it a 1-0 game.
Just three minutes later, the Revs appeared to have an equalizer off the foot of Charlie Davies, but Steve Clark made an unbelievable finger-tip save. Davies got open on the left side of the box and let off a curling shot which Clark was able to barley tip and direct wide of the net, preserving the 1-0 lead and saving the game for the Crew.
The Revs did get one more chance, but they were not able to find an equalizer and lost their first match in their last six matches. The Revs will stay on the road when they take on Sporting Kansas City next Friday. With the loss the Revs fall to 13-13-3 with 42 points.
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