The New England Revolution picked up a valuable three points tonight as they beat the Colorado Rapids 2-1 at a cold and empty Gillette Stadium
All the goals came in the first half where Colorado took the lead in the 21st minute when Matt Reis came for a near post corner by Martin Rivero and got nowhere near, leaving Castrillon with a simple header.
The goal did not stop New England who are finding lots of room between the Rapids defenders. So it was not a surprise when the Revs equalized six minutes later through Saer Sene.
A long cross field ball from Simms was headed back across goal by McCarthy and Sene finished nicely with a volley off a Rapids defender.
New England kept pressing forward and deservedly went ahead in the 37th minute when Cardenas scored his first goal in MLS with a delightful chip over Pickens.
So 2-1 New England at half-time. Have to say I was very surprised that the game ended that way as New England is not known for its defensive prowess. But while the Revs sat back more and invited the Rapids to attack the, Matt Reis in the New England net did not have a lot to do in picking up his 100th win in MLS.
As Revs head coach Jay Heaps said after the game, this was not the Revs best game of the season, but they showed a grit and collective defensive mindset that had been missing from the teams recent losing streak.
With the win New England moves to 3-5 on the season while the Rapids fell to 4-5.
Lineups
Revolution: Matt Reis; Kevin Alston, Stephen McCarthy, A.J. Soares, Chris Tierney; Fernando Cardenas, Shalrie Joseph, Clyde Simms, Benny Feilhaber; Jose Moreno, Saer Sene
Rapids: Matt Pickens; Tyrone Marshall, Drew Moor, Hunter Freeman, Luis Zapata; Brian Mullan, Jeff Larentowicz, Martin Rivero, Jaime Castrillon; Omar Cummings, Tony Cascio
