SB Nation Boston - Revolution 0, Sporting 1: Teal Bunbury's Opportunistic Strike Sinks New England In Physical Battlehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48863/boston-fave.png2012-08-04T23:00:28-04:00http://boston.sbnation.com/rss/stream/29838662012-08-04T23:00:28-04:002012-08-04T23:00:28-04:00Revolution Vs. Sporting Final: Teal Bunbury Sinks Revs In Punishing 1-0 Affair
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<img alt="FOXBORO, MA - JULY 14: Head coach Jay Heaps of New England Revolution looks on before their game against the Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium on July 14, 2012 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tbuUxX9XkAV7CbGlS2Ash9aWa3I=/131x0:3869x2492/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/7889553/148348929.jpg" />
<figcaption>FOXBORO, MA - JULY 14: Head coach Jay Heaps of New England Revolution looks on before their game against the Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium on July 14, 2012 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images) | Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The New England Revolution suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Teal Bunbury and Sporting Kansas City, who took a physical approach to nab three points out of Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.</p> <p></p>
<p>The New England Revolution were battered, buffeted, and beaten around the pitch at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night as <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thebluetestament.com/">Sporting Kansas City</a> took a 1-0 result out of Foxboro. <span>Teal Bunbury</span> scored the match's lone goal by capitalizing on a defensive error.</p>
<p>Truth be told, neither team looked particularly dangerous on the night, but Revs head coach <span>Jay Heaps</span> definitely felt the story of the match was in the fouls: Kansas City committed 21 to New England's 12, but both teams had two yellow cards.</p>
<p>"We're one of the most fouled teams in the league, played against the team that fouls the most, and the referee allowed it," he said. "It's a little bizarre. For me, it's bizarre that I come in here and both teams had two yellow cards and it was 21-12 in fouls. I'm going to go look at the tape, but I find it extremely bizarre."</p>
<p>Sporting's goal was an example of the Revolution getting punished for making mistakes. A series of defensive errors, beginning with a poor throw-in, moving to a bad header from <span>Clyde Simms</span> that Bunbury intercepts, and ending with a stranded <span>Matt Reis</span>, led to the ball ending up in the back of the net.</p>
<p>"That was definitely my fault," said Simms, who wore the captain's armband in the aftermath of the midweek trade of captain <span>Shalrie Joseph</span> to Chivas. "On a normal grass field, I feel like the ball doesn't bounce that high. I tried to hit it back to [<span>Stephen McCarthy</span>] and I couldn't get enough on it. Teal did a good job of reading it and getting in first, and they definitely capitalized."</p>
<p>Statistically, the Revolution didn't give much ground and generally comported themselves as the home side. Especially in the second half, New England appeared to dominate most phases of play, holding 59.7% of the possession and completing 81% of their passes, both an improvement over their first half performances.</p>
<p>What chances they could create, however, were not finished. <span>Dimitry Imbongo</span>, making his first MLS start, was particularly guilty of this, wasting two glorious chances. The young striker failed to even get the ball on frame, despite the fact that neither chance saw him under any kind of defensive pressure.</p>
<p>Bottom line, the Revolution looked a little flat, and needed a physical presence on the pitch to help fight the dirty work that Kansas City was putting in. Unfortunately, that physical presence now plays in LA. The Revs' players were unwilling to blame any sort of emotional hangover from the events of the week, however.</p>
<p>"It has been an emotional week," said left-back <span>Chris Tierney</span>. "We all know what we have to do. We're pros, and we move on game to game."</p>
<p>The Revolution will be back in action next Sunday, August 12th at Gillette Stadium. The match will be part of a groundbreaking doubleheader, as 17-1 boxer Danny "Irish" O'Connor will fight Eddie Soto at Gillette after the Revs match against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mountroyalsoccer.com/">Montreal Impact</a>. It will mark the first time in the stadium's history that it has hosted a boxing match. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thebentmusket.com/revolution-tickets?BrandID=SBNationIFrame&EventID=3970353488&PublisherID=1026043&WidgetID=0">Tickets are available</a> through the TiqIq portal on The Bent Musket.</p>
<p>For more Revolution coverage, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thebentmusket.com/">our team page</a> and blog, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thebentmusket.com">The Bent Musket</a>.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-revolution/2012/8/4/3220779/revolution-vs-sporting-2012-teal-bunbury-clyde-simms-jay-heaps-mls-scores-news-gilletteSteve Stoehr2012-08-04T20:09:08-04:002012-08-04T20:09:08-04:00Revolution Vs. SKC Update: Teal Bunbury Punishes New England Mistake, Kansas City Leads 1-0
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<p>The New England Revolution did not get off to the best start in their home match against <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thebluetestament.com/">Sporting Kansas City</a> on Saturday night, falling behind 1-0 in the 20th minute. A defensive error allowed <span>Teal Bunbury</span> to put the visitors in the lead.</p>
<p>Cleaning up an SKC clearance, <span>Clyde Simms</span> attempted to head the ball back to <span>Stephen McCarthy</span>, who would have had space and time to move the ball to a better spot. Simms' header was short, however, and as McCarthy attempted to corral it off the bounce, Bunbury got there first and nicked it away. After that it was a sprint in on Reis, and Bunbury was able to shape up for a low far-post shot with <span>Matt Reis</span> stranded all alone in the area.</p>
<p>Kansas City was forced into an early substitution when <span>Bobby Convey</span> was taken off due to injury. Former collegiate standout <span>Soony Saad</span> replaced him in the seventh minute.</p>
<p>For more Revolution coverage, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thebentmusket.com/">our team page</a> and blog, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thebentmusket.com">The Bent Musket</a>.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-revolution/2012/8/4/3220512/revolution-vs-skc-2012-teal-bunbury-stephen-mccarthy-clyde-simms-mls-scores-news-updateSteve Stoehr2012-08-04T18:58:16-04:002012-08-04T18:58:16-04:00Revolution Vs. SKC Lineups: Soares Out, Imbongo Starts In First Joseph-Less Match
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<p>For the first time in ten years, a <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thebentmusket.com/">New England Revolution</a> coach looked at his team sheet before a match and didn't see <span>Shalrie Joseph's</span> name somewhere. While that had to have been a shock for <span>Jay Heaps</span>, injuries and the Olympics gave him bigger fish to fry in preparation of the Revs' match against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.</p>
<p><span>A.J. Soares</span> was doubtful going into the match, and his struggle to regain fitness apparently ended in failure as <span>Darrius Barnes</span> has been listed to the team sheet in his place. Rounding out the changes in defense is <span>Florian Lechner</span>, who replaces the ailing <span>Kevin Alston</span>. Alston, however, remains on the bench as the team's sole defensive substitute. That will be a situation to monitor in this match, as one injury will force Heaps into some very difficult decisions.</p>
<p>Heaps appears to be favoring a 4-4-2, although he could easily line his charges up in a 4-3-3 with the midfield and attack he has named. <span>Clyde Simms</span> will fill his usual defensive role, while either <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110923/benny-feilhaber">Benny Feilhaber</a> or <span>Ryan Guy</span> could also join him deeper in midfield.</p>
<p>Newcomer <span>Dimitry Imbongo</span> will make his second appearance as a member of the Revolution, this time starting alongside <span>Saer Sene</span>.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thebluetestament.com/">Sporting Kansas City's</a> lineup features no surprises. Former Revolution fullback <span>Seth Sinovic</span> will start at left-back, while <span>Lawrence Olum</span> starts in place of the injured <span>Aurelien Collin</span>.</p>
<p>For more coverage, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thebentmusket.com/">our team page</a> and blog, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thebentmusket.com">The Bent Musket</a>.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-revolution/2012/8/4/3220414/revolution-vs-skc-2012-lineups-aj-soares-dimitry-imbongo-florian-lechner-mls-newsSteve Stoehr2012-08-04T12:15:03-04:002012-08-04T12:15:03-04:00Revolution Vs. Sporting: New England Looks To Close Out Season Series With A Win
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<p>The New England Revolution are looking to close out their season series with Sporting Kansas City with a win on Saturday night in Foxboro. It's the first match the Revs will play since Shalrie Joseph was traded. (TV/Radio: CSN/98.5)</p> <p></p>
<p>The New England Revolution are set to begin a new era against <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thebluetestament.com/">Sporting Kansas City</a> at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night: the era without captain, talisman, and hero <span>Shalrie Joseph</span>, who was traded to Chivas on Wednesday morning. The match will follow an international friendly between AC Milan of Italy and CD Olimpia of Honduras as part of a soccer doubleheader in Foxboro.</p>
<p>The Revolution are coming off of a 2-1 away loss to Philadelphia last weekend, while Kansas City also tasted defeat in that round of matches, dropping a home result to Columbus by the same score. This match will be the third meeting of the season between the two sides, and Sporting has the current advantage in the series, carrying a 1-0-1 record against New England in 2012. Both previous matches were in Kansas City.</p>
<p>The theme of the match for New England will be finding a way to win without Joseph. The Revs were just 1-4-1 this season when the Grenadian midfield general wasn't starting; they were 0-3-1 when he didn't feature at all. Offensively, the midfield needs to find a way to not only gain possession, but keep it, and establish the tempo of the match. That job generally fell to Joseph, and will now likely be split between <span>Clyde Simms</span> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110923/benny-feilhaber">Benny Feilhaber</a>. Without that capability, the Revs will end up losing possession in dangerous areas, and Kansas City is a team that will punish them for it.</p>
<p>Defensively, New England has to deal with Sporting's dangerous, up-tempo 4-3-3. No matter who takes the pitch for SKC, the attacking talent in the side is frightening; <span>Teal Bunbury</span>, C.J. Sapong, <span>Kei Kamara</span>, <span>Bobby Convey</span>, and <span>Graham Zusi</span> are all dangerous creators and goalscorers. Again, the Revs will have to learn to keep a compact, organized shape in defense without Joseph in the middle keeping them together, and again it will be up to Simms and Feilhaber to dominate the center of the pitch.</p>
<p>The injury report for New England could make things particularly bleak for the Revs unless there has been improvement since Friday. <span>Kevin Alston</span> is questionable with hamstring soreness, so <span>Florian Lechner</span> could feature in his place. Perhaps more unnerving is the listing of <span>A.J. Soares</span> as doubtful with a right hamstring strain; defensive depth is not one of the Revs' strong points, and Soares is one of the best young defenders in the league.</p>
<p>Newcomer <span>Blair Gavin</span> is also doubtful with hamstring tightness, likely a continued symptom of the injury issues that have dogged him since his first season in the league. <span>Bobby Shuttleworth</span> and <span>Alec Purdie</span> are both out.</p>
<p>The Revs are just 13-21-10 all-time against Kansas City, and this season hasn't looked much better. A 3-0 loss in the second game of the season was followed up by a 0-0 draw two weeks ago, both at Livestrong Sporting Park.</p>
<p>The match will be televised live on CSN starting at 7:30 PM EST. 98.5 The Sports Hub will handle the radio call.</p>
<p>For more coverage, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thebentmusket.com/">our team page</a> and blog, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thebentmusket.com">The Bent Musket</a>.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/new-england-revolution/2012/8/4/3219806/revolution-vs-sporting-2012-shalrie-joseph-clyde-simms-graham-zusi-mls-scores-newsSteve Stoehr