The New England Revolution overcame a slow start, rainy conditions and a man disadvantage for the final 17 minutes of play at empty Audi Field to beat D.C. United 2–1 Tuesday night.
In a match with plenty of twists, including a 46-minute lightning delay in the first half, the Revolution found a rhythm and snapped a four-game winless run against United dating back to June 2018.
Gustavo Bou and Teal Bunbury scored on either side of the lightning delay, marking the first time this season that New England has recorded more than a single goal in a game.
The result pushes the Revolution into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference, while United drops down to twelfth.
Revolution rally after D.C. starts strong
United missed two clear scoring chances early on, which helped the Revolution play their way into the game.
Kevin Paredes lofted an open shot over the bar from just outside the box inside the game’s first 15 seconds. Then, Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner dropped low to halt Ola Kamara’s breakaway after Andrew Farrell’s lazy-back pass sent him clean through on net in the third minute.
New England established its possession game after a sloppy start, then profited off two set pieces.
Bou stripped Edison Flores of possession just outside the box in the 26th minute following United’s clearance of a Revolution corner, then settled the ball and blasted a shot past Bill Hamid at the near post.
Referee Guido Gonzalez stopped play for a lightning delay at 7:39 p.m. because of lightning within eight miles of Audi Field.
Forty-six minutes later, play resumed. Five minutes after that, Teal Bunbury drove a powerful header from an Alex Buttner corner into the back of the net off Hamid’s fingertips.
“Set pieces are a big part of the game, and we have guys who can serve a good ball and guys that make good runs in the box,” Revolution assistant coach Richie Williams, who coached on the sidelines for Bruce Arena (suspension), said after the game.
Sweet Victory.#NERevs pic.twitter.com/bRez5WV6PB
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) August 26, 2020
Revolution hang on after D.C. cuts lead in half
United rallied to comeback in the second half, and came halfway to leveling the game.
Gonzalez awarded the hosts a penalty kick in the 71st minute after consulting Video Assistant Referee for a handball in the box by Buttner. Kamara took the spot kick and fired a hard drive down the center of the goal as Turner went right.
United received another lifeline when Gonzalez went to VAR again and ejected second half substitute Scott Caldwell for a studs-up tackle on Felipe in the 83rd minute.
“I found it hard to believe, [Caldwell] is not the type of guy to come in with his foot over the ball, so I’ll have to see it again, but the guys did a great job,” Williams said. “We made changes, got fresh legs on…and battled for the end of the game to get three points on the road.”
D.C. fought to make the most of the advantage and pressed high late in the game. The hosts’ best chance arrived as Turner sprawled to his left to deny Kamara’s header off Julian Gressel’s cross in the first minute of stoppage time.
“We have a good understanding of how each of us can play, and we’re playing well right now,” Bye said. “And we’re riding a hot goalie. Turner is saving us when the ball does get by.”
Put this on every goalkeeper distribution tutorial vid 😍😍😍#NERevs | #DCvNE 1-2 pic.twitter.com/HT7mqzqzuY
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) August 26, 2020
