FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The last time New York won at Gillette Stadium, the building was a little more than a month old and the team was still called the MetroStars.
That was until Sunday when the Red Bulls, in front of 23,950, snapped a 17-match winless streak in New England with a 2-0 victory over the Revolution, spearheaded by goalkeeper Luis Robles’ 10 saves for his third clean sheet of the season.
Up 1-0 midway through the second half on an Eric Alexander header, Peguy Luyindula, stationed at the top of the box, found himself with a clear shot that he buried past Revs ‘keeper Bobby Shuttlesworth, sealing things for a New York side who were out-paced early in the game.
Meanwhile Robles, who picked up a yellow card in the 63rd minute for wasting time, repeatedly made big saves on the line and seemed unfazed by the New England attack, which was on him frequently throughout the match.
The win, ending the Red Bulls’ four-match winless skid, moves New York into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 18 points from 15 games heading into the World Cup break. New England, meanwhile, are still atop the East with 23 points from 14 games and will maintain a one-point edge over SKC going into the break. But after a five-game winning streak, the Revs are suddenly losers of two straight.
Despite an early show of force by the Revs, the Red Bulls first strike changed the tone of things. Lloyd Sam unleashed a long free kick from the left wing to the back post and with Revs midfielder Andy Dorman getting tripped up with Shuttleworth, Alexander was able to redirect his header in the open space for a 1-0 Red Bulls lead in the 17th minute.
It was the first time all season that the Revs had trailed at home, and it would extend to the final whistle.
New England dominated much of the first half, relentlessly working across the field as the attack built itself up through precision passing that lead to 11 shots and waves of traffic in the box.
Ultimately, it was Robles who stood tall in the absence of stars Thierry Henry, Jamison Olave and Tim Cahill, stopping all four of the shots that were on net in the half, including a blast from the top of the box by Patrick Mullins within the first thirty seconds of the match Robles also got a little help from the iron when a Diego Fagundez blast found the far right post in the 44th minute.
The Red Bulls return to MLS action on June 27 when they host Toronto FC, while New England play host to the Philadelphia Union on the 28th.
BOX SCORE
New York Red Bulls 2, New England Revolution 0
June 8, 2014
MLS Regular Season
Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA
Scoring Summary:
- NY: Eric Alexander 1 (Lloyd Sam 6) 17’
- NY: Peguy Luyindula 3 (unassisted) 76’
Disciplinary Summary:
- NE: Chris Tierney (caution) 48’+
- NY: Luis Robles (caution) 63’
- NY: Matt Miazga (caution) 69’
- NY: Ibrahim Sekagya (caution) 86’
- NY: Andre Akpan (caution) 94’+
New York Red Bulls (4-5-6, 18 pts.):
Luis Robles, Chris Duvall, Armando, Matt Miazga, Kosuke Kimura, Lloyd Sam, Ibrahim Sekagya, Eric Alexander, Bobby Convey (Jonny Steele 60’), Peguy Luyindula (Connor Lade 92’+), Bradley Wright-Phillips (Andre Akpan 87’)
Substitutes not used:
Ryan Meara, Richard Eckersley, Ambroise Oyongo, Ruben Bover
New England Revolution (7-5-2, 23 pts.):
Bobby Shuttleworth, Andrew Farrell, Jose Goncalves, A.J. Soares, Chris Tierney, Daigo Kobayashi (Steve Neumann 71’), Andy Dorman (Saer Sene 81’), Diego Fagundez, Lee Nguyen, Teal Bunbury, Patrick Mullins (Kelyn Rowe 46’)
Substitutes not used:
Brad Knighton, Stephen McCarthy, Scott Caldwell, Darrius Barnes
Referee:
Geoff Gamble
Referee’s Assistants:
Anthony Vasoli, Matthew Nelson
4th Referee:
Robert Sibiga
Attendance:
23,950
