TORONTO – The New England Revolution (10-9-7, 37 pts.) played Toronto FC (4-12-10, 22 pts.) to a 1-1 draw at a rain-soaked BMO Field in Toronto on Friday night. The road point moved the Revs into sole possession of the fifth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference heading into this weekend’s action.
The Revs got off to a dream start on the road as Diego Fagundez found the back of the net in just the second minute of play.
Kelyn Rowe carved his way into Toronto’s area and let rip a right-footed shot that was blocked down before reaching Toronto goalkeeper Joe Bendik. Rowe collected the loose ball and found Fagundez wide open on the back post who tapped home the pass to give the Revs a 1-0 lead.
Fagundez came close to giving the Revs a two-goal advantage just four minutes later. Again it was Rowe finding the 18-year-old on the corner of Toronto’s 18-yard box with a clever back heel flick. Fagundez took one touch and curled a right-footed shot towards the back post that was cleared away by a diving Bendik.
The Revs looked poised to head into halftime with the lead until a late set piece was awarded to Toronto. After the ball was lumped into the box by Toronto’s Richard Eckersley, the Revs could not clear the loose ball.
Doneil Henry, who found the ball at his feet, slipped the ball to Andrew Wiedeman who took one touch, turned and fired from the top of the six yard box to beat Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis and level the score at 1-1.
A rain-soaked pitch led to a hard fought and chippy second half, but neither team was able to generate any quality scoring chances until late.
Toronto’s Steven Caldwell got on the end of set piece in the 88th minute, flicking a header to the back post that beat Reis, but the goal was disallowed after a foul on Caldwell.
The Revs return to action next Sunday when they host the top team in the East, the Montreal Impact in the first of two regular season meetings between the clubs at Gillette Stadium.
Kickoff for Sunday night’s match is set for 7:30 p.m. and Comcast SportsNet will televise the game while 98.5 the Sports Hub will have the call on the radio.
For up-to-the-minute information on the Revolution, visit the team’s official web site at revolutionsoccer.net, or join the conversation and interact with fans on any of the team’s social platforms: Twitter (@NERevolution, #NERevs), Facebook (NERevolution), Google+ (+NERevolution), Instagram (NERevolution), Pinterest (NERevolution), Vine (NERevolution), YouTube (NERevolutionSoccer) and Flickr (NERevolution).
For more information about 2014 ticketing options, including multi-game plans and individual game tickets, please visit revolutionsoccer.net/tickets.
New England Revolution vs. Toronto FC
August 30, 2013 – BMO Field (Toronto, ON, Canada)
New England Revolution 1, Toronto FC 1
Scoring Summary:
NE – Diego Fagundez (Kelyn Rowe) 2
TOR – Andrew Wiedeman (Doneil Henry) 47+
New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Chris Tierney, Jose Goncalves, A.J. Soares, Andrew Farrell, Chad Barrett (Dimitry Imbongo 59) Lee Nguyen Scott Caldwell, Kelyn Rowe, Diego Fagundez (Charlie Davies 89), Juan Agudelo (Saer Sene 78)
Substitutes Not Used: Bobby Shuttleworth, Andy Dorman, Stephen McCarthy, Darrius Barnes
STATS:
Shots 7, Shots on Target 2, Corner Kicks 2, Saves 0, Fouls 16, Offsides 1, Passes 369 (77.0%), Possession 48.9%
Toronto FC: Joseph Bendik, Ashtone Morgan, Doneil Henry, Steven Caldwell, Richard Eckersley, Reggie Lambe (Alvaro Rey 87), Jonathan Osorio, Jeremy Hall, Bobby Convey, Andrew Wiedeman, Robert Earnshaw (Maximiliano Urruti 78)
Substitutes Not Used: Stefan Frei, Jonas Elmer, Gale Agbossoumonde, Darel Russell, Justin Braun
STATS:
Shots 11, Shots on Target 1, Corner Kicks 6, Saves 1, Fouls 12, Offsides 3, Passes 375 (76.8%), Possession 51.1%
* Note that all statistics are unofficial as supplied by Opta
Misconduct Summary:
NE – Lee Nguyen (caution) 31
NE – Diego Fagundez (caution) 54
TOR – Steve Caldwell (caution) 68
NE – Scott Caldwell (caution) 74
TOR – Ashtone Morgan (caution) 75
TOR – Doneil Henry (caution) 86
NE – Dimitry Imbongo (caution) 87
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistant Referees: Philippe Briere (AR1), Scott Kachmarik (AR2)
Fourth Official: Ted Unkel
Weather: Cloudy and 78 degrees
Attendance: 18,623
Team Records:
New England Revolution – 10-9-7 (37 pts.)
Toronto FC – (4-12-10, 22 pts)
GAME NOTES
- With the draw on Friday, the Revs moved to 10-9-7 overall and 8-5-4 against Eastern Conference opponents
- With the tie, the Revs moved into sole possession of the fifth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference
- The Revs are now 5-4-7 against Toronto overall including a 0-2-5 mark in Toronto
- Friday’s game in Toronto marked the first time Jay Heaps has sent out the same starting lineup in three consecutive games
- The last time the Revs sent out the same lineup in three consecutive games was from May 14-28, 2011
- Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season against Toronto on Friday
- Fagundez now has nine goals and six assists on the season
- Kelyn Rowe recorded his team-leading seventh assist on Friday … Rowe now has five goals and seven assists on the season
- Friday also marked three straight games where Rowe has recorded at least one point
- Matt Reis made his third consecutive start on Friday against Toronto
- Reis improved to 3-0-2 in five appearances this season and has allowed just two goals
