One game in 100 words: The New England Revolution needed a difference maker. They needed a Designated Player like Jermaine Jones who could change the complexion of a match at any instant. And that’s exactly what the German-American midfielder did with his late goal to provide the Revolution with a 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City. One should dish out credit to Peter Vermes’ side, as they fought back from a two-goal deficit to make this game interesting when the result appeared to lean heavily in New England’s favor. With this victory, the Revolution have bounced right back from a 1-0 loss against the Crew to snag three points, and will move past Sporting at second place in the Eastern Conference.
Goals
Sporting Kansas City: Paolo Nagamura 54’, Dominic Dwyer 56’
New England: Kelyn Rowe 22’, Jose Goncalves 35’, Jermaine Jones 85’
Three moments that mattered:
85’ — Jones’ first MLS goal for the win — The Revs necessitated a timely run of play to grab three points against a talented Sporting KC squad that battled hard to overcome early struggles, and Jermaine Jones answered the call. The former Shalke midfielder gathered Diego Kobayashi’s pass from outside the box, calmly moved forward and rocketed a low strike that whipped past goalkeeper Eric Kronberg’s outstretched hands. This specific moment, essentially a solo effort by Jones, reflected the importance of the Revolution’s big-name Designated Player signing.
54’ — Nagamura spearheads Sporting KC momentum — At this point in the match, the Revolution had dominated on both sides of the ball, holding Sporting’s attack to few opportunities and taking advantage of the home team’s defensive lapse. Paolo Nagamura then released freely behind New England’s defense with a well-timed ball from Kevin Ellis, stepped up in the penalty box and blasted a close-range shot into the back of the net. This goal sudden spurred newfound momentum for Sporting, as Dwyer scored while chances on frame arrived at a rapid pace.
35’ — Confident Goncalves extends lead to 2-0 — It’s not very often when you see Jose Goncalves notch a goal for the Revolution, but Sporting gave the defender a great deal of space to uncork a curling left-footer that skidded across the field to beat Kronberg at the far post. The Portugese footballer brought his team’s lead to two goals, a scoreline which allowed the Revolution to nail a game-winner when Kansas City stormed back to level the contest at 2-2.
Lineups
New England: Bobby Shuttleworth; Kevin Alston, Andrew Farrell, Jose Goncalves, Chris Tierney; Jermaine Jones, Teal Bunbury (Steve Neumann 80’), Daigo Kobayashi (Scott Caldwell 65’), Lee Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe (Darrius Barnes 90’+2’); Charlie Davies
Sporting KC: Eric Kronberg; Igor Juliao, Kevin Ellis, Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic; Paulo Nagamura (C.J. Sapong 90’ + 1’), Jorge Claros, Benny Feilhaber; Toni (Soony Saad 61’), Dominic Dwyer, Graham Zusi
