FOXBOROUGH ? New England Revolution coach Jay Heaps was adamant Sunday?s 5-1 blowout of the Philadelphia Union wasn?t a ?statement game.?
?To be honest with you, we need points,? the Longmeadow native said. ?Statements are when you make the playoffs and do well in the playoffs.
?For us, we?re trying to get points. We need to continue to get points at home and right the record at home. We?ve felt we?ve let games slip away here and we need to right that ship.?
Heaps? opinion notwithstanding, the Revs (10-9-6) did make a statement of sorts in belting a team that had recorded shutouts in four of it last five matches.
As a result, New England moved ahead of idle Chicago into a tie with Houston for the Eastern Conference?s fifth and final playoff spot. The Revs are just five points behind first-place Montreal.
?It was good for us to find the net again in a big way,? said Kelyn Rowe, who scored twice. ?A 5-1 victory taking it into later this week (Friday at Toronto FC) is big for us.?
The Revolution led 1-0 at intermission thanks to a well-executed play in the 26th minute.
Jose Goncalves passed the ball from just outside midfield to Chad Barrett, who split the defense with a pass to Rowe making a run down the middle.
Rowe lined a 25-yard shot into the lower-left corner past a diving Zac MacMath.
?On my first goal, they were dropping a lot,? Rowe said. ?So I thought I?d run by and try to hit it on goal. Luckily it went inside the far post.?
Philadelphia tied it in the 51st minute as Conor Casey fed Danny Cruz on a run down the middle. When Revs keeper Matt Reis came off his mark too soon, Cruz slid the ball into an open net.
That deadlock only lasted seven minutes, as New England gained a 2-1 edge on what was ruled an own goal.
Diego Fagundez fed Juan Agudelo breaking in from the right wing and Agudelo?s shot deflected in off the feet of a sliding Amobi Okudo.
Rowe added his second goal in the 65th minute on a 25-yarder that sailed into the upper-right corner.
?Kelyn can hit those,? Heaps said. ?He hits those in training a lot. A lot of times, he?s trying to find the rifle-sniper shot. But he?s got some good range on that shot.?
Fagundez and Agudelo combined to turn the game into a rout when each scored in the latter minutes.
Fagundez lined a shot into the lower-left corner off a feed from Scott Caldwell before Agudelo chipped in the ball, with Fagundez earning the assist.
?We?ve had minimal-goal games and we needed to come back strong,? Rowe said. ?We know we?re capable of it. Obviously, you saw it with (a 5-0 victory over) L.A. You saw it with a couple of 2-0 victories.
?We?ve got guys who can score. Agudelo is finding his streak again. Diego?s in great spots as well as Dimitry Imbongo, Chad Barrett and obviously myself.?
Source: http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/08/new_england_revolution_upend_p.html
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