Foxborugh, Mass. — The New England Revolution fought off D.C. United 4–3 at wet and rainy Gillette Stadium on Sunday night, with all three of the club’s Designated Players taking the field together for just the third time this season.
Adam Buksa drew a penalty in the first half with the Revolution down 2–0 and scored on the rebound of Carles Gil’s ensuing spot kick, which clipped the left post.
Gil (bone spurs), who made his first start since July 18, and Bou (hamstring), who missed five of the previous six matches, also helped set up goals in the second half as the Revolution (8–6–8, 32 points) won their second home game of the season and jumped into sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
“I’m so proud of this group for the performance tonight,” Teal Bunbury, who scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 85th minute, said. “Not easy conditions, it was sloppy, it was a battle, there was chippiness, there was fouling, rebound goals, all of it.
“This is a playoff atmosphere and to have that resiliency — I know that word gets used a lot — but that’s exactly what we showed tonight. Guys that started the game and guys that came off the bench, they put the work in and that’s what we’re going to need to do in the next game and come playoffs: everybody is going to need to put a shift in. The games get close and we’re going to have to be tuned in and locked in for 90 minutes.”
D.C. United takes early lead
But New England started sluggish — matching the ambience at Gillette Stadium caused by whipping winds and a heavy downpour.
United took the lead as Yamil Asad slipped into the penalty area unmarked and flicked Edison Flores’ cross past Matt Turner at the back post in the 22nd. Griffin Yow doubled the advantage five minutes later by firing a low drive through the box that Revolution defender Henry Kessler redirected into his own net.
“I think we had, oddly enough, control of the game even when we went down a goal and two goals,” Revolution head coach/sporting director Bruce Arena said. “We were playing well, but we certainly made some mistakes that cost us dearly. And our team has been fairly consistent in showing character the entire year. So, it was nice to play our last regular season game at home, where the guys had to battle, dig in, and try to win the game and they did that. So, that’s certainly a positive.”
Oh boy this attacking front all healthy 🥵 #NERevs pic.twitter.com/6QKyCMc7xv
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) November 2, 2020
Revolution mount three-goal rally
The Revolution responded aggressively, as moments later Buksa went in on goal and drew a foul from Russell Canouse on the left edge of the area, prompting referee David Gantar to award a penalty.
Gil’s ensuing shot flew past an outstretched Bill Hamid and clanged off the post. Buksa, who received the rebound in the center of the box, easily tucked away the loose ball to cut United’s lead in half.
“A rebound, I need to be there,” Buksa said of his goal. “It’s not always possible because sometimes it’s about half of the second or half of the yard where you have to be or not, but I’m happy to have scored this goal. A goal is a goal. It doesn’t matter how it looks. It’s important that it hits the back of the net.”
Hamid knocked away Buksa’s 41st minute bid from point-blank range of Brandon Bye’s cross from the right flank, then tipped Tommy McNamara’s quick shot from inside the area on the stroke of halftime. Tajon Buchanan tied the game in the 54th minute by driving a hard cross from the right side of the box into the heart of the area, where Canouse mistakenly cleared it into his own net.
Buchanan ran onto Gil’s 67th minute feed, then squared for Bunbury, who slotted a shot past Hamid at the far post. D.C.’s Geimin Rivas then leveled the score for the third time in the 76th minute by heading Flores’ cross past Turner.
Bunbury wins it late for Revolution
Bunbury notched the game-winner, and his team-leading eighth goal of the season, but firing past Hamid in the 85th minute after pouncing on the rebound of Hamid’s initial save at the far post on Buksa, who shot after receiving a feed from Bou.
The Revolution haven’t lost a competitive game against United at Gillette Stadium since September 2012 and are now 30–34–15 in the all-time series.
United (5–11–6, 21 points) is now on the brink of elimination from playoff contention with only its regular season finale against the Montreal Impact, on Sunday, remaining.
“I would say the mood right now is we’re happy with the result we got tonight, we still have a game left before the playoffs start and we don’t know who we’re going to play against,” Bunbury said. “Our goal is to finish top-six so I think we’re going to focus on this next game first but I think the mood is good and we still know that there’s things we’ve got to improve on.
“Obviously, it’s the end of the season so we have to make sure we’re locked in these next couple weeks in training and focusing on those things.”
Goals on goals on goals. More importantly, three points. pic.twitter.com/E5JAMsoiZc
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) November 2, 2020
