FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – FC Dallas forward Blas Perez came off the bench to score the only goal of the game in the 87th minute and send the New England Revolution to a 1-0 loss on Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
The Revs (1-2-1, 4 pts.) appeared to be on their way to a second consecutive scoreless draw until Perez struck late, latching onto David Ferreira’s delicate chip and guiding a header off the far post and into the net.
FC Dallas (4-1-0, 12 pts.) remains atop the Western Conference standings with the victory, while the Revs have now been shut out in three consecutive matches since opening the season with a win in Chicago.
After using a single striker in the first three games, Jay Heaps opted to deploy a more traditional two-forward setup against Dallas. Jerry Bengtson returned from international duty to regain his starting spot and was partnered up top by Ryan Guy, making his first start of the season.
The visitors generated the first serious chance in the 14th minute when Kenny Cooper’s low cross flashed across the face of goal, but Jackson narrowly missed connecting after escaping to the back post.
Diego Fagundez – making his first start of the season on the left wing – had the Revolution’s best chance of the first half in the 34th minute when his low effort from 20 yards was hit straight at FCD goalkeeper Raul Fernandez.
Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth – starting in place of the injured Matt Reis – came up with a huge save in the 40th minute, rushing off his line to stifle Ferreira’s close-range blast.
The Revs started the second half brightly and Bengtson went close in the 58th minute when his looping header from Juan Toja’s cross was tipped over the crossbar by Fernandez.
Cooper found the back of the net for FC Dallas in the 63rd minute when he flicked a header past Shuttleworth, but the goal was waved off as the flag went up for offside. Three minutes later George John’s header appeared goal-bound until Lee Nguyen – positioned on the post during a corner kick – cleared it off the line.
The game continued to open up for both sides and at the other end of the field Kevin Alston broke into the box all alone in the 69th minute only for Fernandez to make a sprawling save low to his left. Fernandez came up big again in the 80th minute, smothering Toja’s shot from inside the six.
The sides appeared destined to finish goalless, but Perez ensured the visitors left Foxborough with all three points when he struck three minutes from time.
The Revs have a bye on the schedule next weekend and won’t return to action until Saturday, April 13, when they’ll travel cross-country to visit Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field.
New England Revolution vs. FC Dallas
March 30, 2013 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
FC Dallas 1, New England Revolution 0
Scoring Summary:
FCD – Blas Perez (David Ferreira) 87
New England Revolution: Bobby Shuttleworth, Kevin Alston (Chris Tierney 88), Jose Goncalves, A.J. Soares, Andrew Farrell, Ryan Guy (Kelyn Rowe 60), Clyde Simms ©, Juan Toja, Lee Nguyen, Diego Fagundez (Andy Dorman 85), Jerry Bengtson
Substitutes Not Used: Luis Soffner, Kalifa Cisse, Chad Barrett, Stephen McCarthy
STATS: Shots 9, Shots on Target 5, Corner Kicks 1, Saves 3, Fouls 14, Offsides 0, Passes 341 (71.3%), Possession 48.1%
FC Dallas: Raul Fernandez, Matt Hedges, Fabian Castillo (Je-Vaughn Watson 82), George John, Zach Loyd, Andrew Jacobson, Michel, Jackson, Jair Benitez (Bobby Warshaw 90), David Ferreira ©, Kenny Cooper (Blas Perez 64),
Substitutes Not Used: Chris Seitz, London Woodberry, Kellyn Acosta, Eric Hassli
STATS: Shots 10, Shots on Target 4, Corner Kicks 6, Saves 5, Fouls 9, Offsides 3, Passes 379 (78.6%), Possession 51.9%
* Note that all statistics are unofficial as supplied by Opta
Misconduct Summary:
FCD – David Ferreira (caution) 51
NE – Kelyn Rowe (caution) 64
Referee: David Gantar
Assistant Referees: Craig Lowry, Kevin Klinger,
Fourth Official: Mathieu Bourdeau
Weather: Sunny and 56 degrees
Attendance: 10,284
Team Records
FC Dallas – 4-1-0 (12 pts.)
New England Revolution – 1-2-1 (4 pts.)
GAME NOTES
- With today’s loss, New England fell to 23-13-3 all-time against FC Dallas
- The result pushes the club’s home record to 12-6-1 against FC Dallas
- New England has been held scoreless against FC Dallas in its last two regular-season matches
- Today’s match will be the only time the two clubs meet in the 2013 regular season
- The Revolution are now 0-1-1 at home this season
- FC Dallas earned its first victory at Gillette Stadium since a 2-1 win on July 16, 2003
- Through four games this season, the New England Revolution has surrendered just two goals, for a 0.50 goals against average
- Through four games, the Revs have only scored one goal … Jerry Bengtson scored against Chicago in the team’s season opener on March 9
- The Revs have been held scoreless for 298 minutes
- Jerry Bengtson returned from international duty with Honduras where he helped the team earn a 2-2 draw at home against Mexico and a 2-0 loss at Panama.
- Diego Fagundez earned his first of the season … it was his second appearance on the year
- Ryan Guy also earned his first start on the season … it was also his second appearance of the 2013 campaign
- Clyde Simms served as team captain for the fourth straight game this season
- Bobby Shuttleworth earned his second start of the season and his 21st career start
