KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Jose Goncalves and Jermaine Jones are two of the New England Revolution’s emotional leaders both on and off the field. On Friday night, they led the Revs on the score sheet, as well.
Goncalves and Jones both registered their first goals of the season – after Kelyn Rowe opened the scoring with his fourth tally of the year – to lead the Revolution to a massive 3-2 road win over Sporting Kansas City.
It’s a result which pushes the Revs into second place in the Eastern Conference with just four games remaining in the regular season, and it came under trying circumstances in a pressure-filled situation.
“When I look at our team, the two leaders really are Jermaine and Jose,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “I thought the two of them tonight, by scoring goals, that’s one step. But I thought how they prepared the team for this game, how they were in the locker room before the game, it was business.
“It was a great response to the loss last week. I think it’s a credit to Jermaine, credit to Jose for really picking the team up tonight.”
New England, spurred by its leadership, started brightly and carried a 2-0 lead into the halftime break thanks to a sterling first-time finish from Rowe and a stunning long-range strike to cap a solo run from Goncalves.
But Sporting KC stunned the visitors with a pair of goals just two minutes apart early in the second half and may well have pushed in front if not for a string of impressive saves from goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
“At halftime I think we came out on the field a little bit flat,” said Goncalves. “We gave them the opportunity and they took the opportunity. That was our biggest mistake in the game. But we kept the concentration up and that’s why we managed to get the win.”
After settling down and regrouping following a rough stretch, New England seized upon an opportunity to snatch the full three points late in the game. Jones, who felt he’d been at fault for Sporting KC’s equalizing goal, unleashed a low drive from 30 yards out which skipped past SKC goalkeeper Eric Kronberg.
“After [Sporting KC’s second goal] I was like, ‘I have to step up and I have to help the team come back,’” Jones said postgame. “People see already that I score at the World Cup, similar to that goal. I try to shoot when I have the chance. I saw the corner is free and I try it. I think it’s a big three points and I’m happy for the team.”
Those three points take the Revs near the summit of the East with the regular season winding down, but there’s little doubt that Friday night’s win – in front of a national television audience – carried a bit more weight than New England’s previous 13 wins this season.
“It’s more than the three points,” said Goncalves. “For us the importance was very big for this because we are going into some tough games right now … To get this win, I can’t tell you how big it is mentally. For the future, it’s very big.”
