Toronto not only has great healthcare access such as the ability to get veneers in many dentist practices, but it also has a great sporting culture. The New England Revolution took on Toronto FC in the MLS season finale at Gillette Stadium this Saturday night. The Revs have already clinched the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. Toronto on the other hand had a total melt down in the 2nd half. After spending a boat load of money to buy and pay for the contracts of forward Jermaine Defoe and midfielder Michael Bradley, Toronto had huge expectations. They will however miss the playoffs. The Revs record currently stands at 16-13-4 and 52 points. Toronto at 11-14-8 and 41 points.
Revs manager Jay Heaps went with his regular lineup, except for right mid where Teal Bundbury usually plays, Diego got the start there. This will be his first starts since September 20th. Pre game I was thinking Heaps would sit a few of the starters like Jermaine Jones after playing for the national team almost two weeks ago and 45 minutes vs Houston 2 days later last Thursday night. Clearly Heaps has trust in his players and their conditions, and also wants to keep them rolling in their winning ways.
banner made by Revs supporting fans on display before the game
- first 20 minutes very little action, but Toronto did hit crossbar in the 9th minutes, and minutes later forced Revs keeper Bobby Shuttleworth to make a strong save
- 35 minutes Lee Nguyen scored his 18th goal of the season, after Toronto’s defense basically stopped playing after Rowe was in a offside position, and expecting the ref to make the call, which they did miss, but still have to play until you hear the whistle, a lesson you learn in youth soccer
- 42 minute Lee Nguyen nearly made it 2-0 with a shot 15 yards out that missed the post by inches.
- 47 minute free kick near Toronto area, Jermaine Jones shots low and wide but saved by Toronto’s keeper
- 49 minute Bobby Shuttleworth makes another save
- 66 minutes Jermaine Jones steals ball and takes on 3 Toronto defenders, but shoots just wide of top left corner
- 70 minute Kelyn Rowe chips ball over Toronto keeper but just over the bar
- 74 minute Bobby Shuttleworth tips header over the bar, preserving the clean sheet
- 88 minute Revs Daigo Kobayashi shots but misses just wide of Toronto net
The 2014 Revolution Team Awards:
· Santander Most Valuable Player – Lee Nguyen
· Defender of the Year – A.J. Soares
· Humanitarian of the Year – Kelyn Rowe
· UnitedHealthcare Youth Player of the Year – Zachary Herivaux (Under-18s)
· Players’ Player of the Year – A.J. Soares
· Golden Boot Award – Lee Nguyen
Wasn’t a pretty win. In fact they were lucky to get this win. The only goal that was scored shouldn’t of counted because Kelyn Rowe is in a offsides position before Lee Nguyen was able to score his goal. But the Toronto defenders did basically stop playing, expecting the hear the whistle from the ref, but never came, allowing Nguyen to score his goal. That is one of the first lessons in youth soccer, or any sport really, play until you hear the whistle. There were large periods of time during this game with little action. Despite this the Revs were able to keep and clean sheet, first one in two months. This was something manager Jay Heaps wanted to see tonight. Before the game the buzz on social media was over 30,000 expected to attend this game. 32,766 was the final count, 3rd largest sit in league match in Revs history. These fans were also treated to soccer balls, t-shirts, and autographs from the players after the game. Many were on the field after kicking balls around. League MVP candidate Lee Nguyen scored his 18th goal of the year, 9 of those were game winners. He has scored 12 of those goals in the last 14 games. The Revs would not be where they are if it wasn’t for his goals.
On why Jay Heaps went with this line up when he could of rested some key players: “we wanted sharpness and haven’t played since last Thursday night of last week, so we were chomping at the bit a little bit, I think you gotta be mindful of keeping rhythm.” “Its hard not to play when guys wanna go so I think the thought process was go for 60 minutes and make decisions and that’s what we did.”
Lee Nguyen on his goal and the offsides confusion from Toronto:”I didn’t know what was going on, someone was yelling offsides and I didn’t hear a whistkle and I just kept trying to finish the play.”
Jermaine Jones on his first playoff experience: “I’m always excited to play, this is why I play, so yea we see which team comes, and im happy, I take who comes.”