COLUMBUS, Ohio – Saturday evening’s visit to Lower.com Field left New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena with mixed emotions.
On one hand, his side battled their way to a 2-2 draw with the defending MLS Cup champions under challenging circumstances as the Columbus Crew opened up a brand-new stadium in front of 20,371 raucous fans. But there was also an element of disappointment as the Revs weren’t able to turn a 2-0 lead inside the game’s opening 30 minutes into three points.
“That’s as challenging a game on the road as you’ll ever see in this league,” said Arena, who knows a thing or two about Major League Soccer. “In that stadium, with clearly a 12th man for 90 minutes, is something you don’t see to that extent, and against a good team. So, to walk off with a point is a plus.
“But I say that, if we don’t concede the goal at the end of the first half, we can go home with three points.”
Thus summed up Saturday’s proceedings in Columbus. Tajon Buchanan scored the first goal in Lower.com Field history when he headed home DeJuan Jones’ cross in the 13th minute, and Gustavo Bou doubled the lead on the half-hour mark when Buchanan turned provider from the right wing. Gyasi Zardes responded with a goal before halftime, though, and the Revs pointed to that moment as the difference maker.
“Definitely. Especially if you go up 2-0,” Henry Kessler said when asked if it was a winnable game. “I think if we close out the first half correctly, I think we win this game. Whenever you have a 2-0 lead, it’s definitely a winnable game. That being said, I think at the end there if Andrew (Farrell) doesn’t make an incredible play, we could’ve lost. A point on the road isn’t the worst thing, but we’re disappointed not to get all three.”
Kessler was referencing a 94th-minute, game-saving play from Farrell, who cleared an Alexandru Matan effort off the line and denied the Crew a dramatic winner. It was a redemptive moment for Farrell, who was credited with an own goal on Columbus’ 69th-minute equalizer, although there was an element of misfortune – and a potential foul – as the ball, Matt Turner, Farrell, and Zardes all ended up in the net.
“Gyasi pushed our two players into the goal,” said Arena, noting that “a key Columbus player” told him after the game that he agreed it was a push. “Matt probably could’ve handled that ball. I haven’t seen the replay. You know, I could be 100 percent incorrect. The way I saw it at the time, I thought Farrell was pushed into Turner, which enabled the ball to cross the line. Again, I hope I’m wrong, and I hope the VAR had it right.”
New England now look ahead to Wednesday’s return to Foxborough for a meeting with Toronto FC, who suffered a 7-1 loss to D.C. United on Saturday night. Having taken one point from a pair of road trips the Revs are eager to get back to Gillette Stadium, where they’re a perfect 5-0-0 on the year, and where they’ll play midweek before a 10-day break between matches.
“That’s really important,” Kessler said of Wednesday’s match. “I believe this is the longest we’ve gone without a win. I mean, I think it’s only two games but still the longest stretch of the season for us. It shows how well we’ve done so far this year, but we want to get back on track with three points and go into that break back in winning ways.”
