An injured Xavier Kouassi scored the equalizer for the Revolution against NYCFC Wednesday.
Xavier Kouassi came off the bench on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium to deliver a hard to miss message to his New England Revolution teammates.
With his team down 2-1 to New York City FC inside baseball’s House of Pain, Kouassi, who injured his leg on a defensive play just moments after entering the match as a substitute for Gershon Koffie in the second half, headed in the equalizer off a Kelyn Rowe cross in the 86th minute to rescue a crucial Eastern Conference road point.
Normally, a late tying goal on the road and against a rival would be enough cause for celebration. But as Kouassi limped onto the ground and blinked away tears after scoring his first goal in MLS, one thing seemed clear: that the Revolution are tired of throwing away points.
New England are still winless on the road and sit out of playoff contention in the Eastern Conference, but a loss on Wednesday would have dug them into a deeper hole as the midway point in the campaign approaches.
Blown leads and squandered points are a hallmark of the 2017 Revolution, who are now 14 games into the season. But, against NYCFC, the Revs may just have shed their skin.
New York took the lead in the 17th minute as David Villa sprinted into the box and pulled a crowd of New England defenders toward him before squaring the ball for an unmarked Jack Harrison, who easily put a shot past goalkeeper Brad Knighton to open the scoring.
Kei Kamara recorded his fourth goal of the season off a corner kick in the 24th minute. Kamara earned the corner as well, going through on NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson off a Lee Nguyen through ball and seeing his low driven shot parried wide. On the corner, Nguyen crossed to the near post, where Kamara’s head met the feed and sent the ball bouncing into the back of the net.
NYCFC, making use of their home turf’s tight dimensions, penned New England in to start the second half. They managed to restore their lead in the 67th minute as Villa’s cross from the left flank found Miguel Camargo in the center of the box, his header deflecting off Kelyn Rowe on its way past Knighton.
The Revolution looked like they were headed for another lackluster result which they could have flipped—then sprung to life at the oddest of times as Kouassi, a team leader and midfield general, began limping.
Kouassi, though at one point laying on the turf in obvious pain, chose to remain in the game. Even with New England out of substitutions, he easily could have opted to remove himself from the field and avoid risking further injury.
Instead, with time ticking away, Kouassi emerged in the thick of the penalty area to rise up and meet a cross from the right wing by Rowe and head it past Johnson.
New England managed to defend well enough in the minutes that remained to allow their equalizing goal to hold.
Sometimes, ties are viewed as two points lost. This occasion is not one of those times.
Some more takeaways from the game:
- With his assist on Kei Kamara’s goal, Lee Nguyen becomes just the second Revolution player all-time to record 40 assists and 40 goals. Club legend Steve Ralston is the other player. Nguyen has established himself as a dynamic, all-around attacking player with excellent passing, dribbling, and shooting skills. Ralston was known for his vision and leadership, but Nguyen, who is the captain this year, is clearly gaining ground on that front as well.
- Kamara has garnered his fair share of critics in his short time in New England, but his performance Wednesday night didn’t merit much detraction. Even without the goal, his movement was excellent and he managed to help his team on both sides of the ball.
- However, that was Kamara’s 90th career goal. He is 10 away from the centennial mark, which few players have reached in MLS. The hunt for 100 hasn’t come up once this season with Kamara despite the fact that he’s close. Does he even realize how close he is? Revolution legend Taylor Twellman—the benchmark for strikers who wear a Revs jersey—made it his mission to reach that centennial mark once it got close. If Kamara is as eager, he’s not showing it.
- Brad Knighton made his first start of the season in net. Cody Cropper, the typical starter, got to rest ahead of this weekend’s clash against Toronto at Gillette Stadium. Knighton looked confident and strong despite playing in a difficult environment against a team with quite an eclectic attack. He allowed two goals, but that wasn’t the whole story. He also came up with three saves, each of which was important to keeping the Revs in the game.
- Juan Agudelo started the season off with a hot foot but his recent injury, which he is just returning from, threatens to cramp up his style.
- Kelyn Rowe may be capable of playing left back, but that doesn’t mean he should this often. As his assist on the Kouassi goal shows, he is a talented attacking player who should be near the box as much as possible.
- Even if Chris Tierney was five years younger and healthy, you’d still want a back up left back on the Revolution. If Donnie Smith isn’t it, get another LB in the transfer market.
- It’s obvious when Andrew Farrell gets into the attack that he isn’t a confident crosser.
- Gershon Koffie has looked sharper in his return to the Revolution than before he departed at the end of last season. It should be interesting to see him pair with Kouassi.
