NE Revolution vs. NYCFC
March 24, 2018
New England Revolution 2-New York City FC 2
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. –Ismael Tajouri tallied twice to help a depleted New York City FC claim a 2-2 comeback draw against the New England Revolution Saturday at Gillette Stadium.
Without the services of David Villa, Rodney Wallace, Alex Ring, and Ronald Matarrita, the guests got the most out of Tajouri, who scored in the 51st and 75th minutes.
With the draw, New York City remains unbeaten through its first four (3-0-1, 10 points) while New England claimed its first draw of the season (1-1-1, 4 points).
New York City certainly needed to put together a strong second half performance after they were rolled by the Revolution during the first 45 minutes.
After a few early forays, the footballers from Foxboro found paydirt in the 11th minute. Wilfried Zahibo won the ball back in the midfield before feeding it for Fagundez, who raced at goal and blasted a shot that kissed in the inside of the post and settled into the back of the net.
New York City may have been put on its heels for much of the first half, but they nearly capitalized in the 24th minute. Yangel Herrera fought off a challenge and uncorked a drive from edge of the area that forced a diving save out of Matt Turner.
Fagundez nearly netted another in the 36th minute when Cristian Penilla led him into an open chance in the box. But Fugundez’s effort veered well wide of frame.
The Revolution paid for the wasted effort early in the second half. A poorly-marked Jesus Medina found Abdul-Salaam in the area before he deferred it to Tajouri, who tapped it though to level it in the 51st minute.
But the hosts didn’t go away quietly. Zahibo reclaimed a loose ball on the left before switching it for Penilla on the opposite side. With space and time to operate, Penilla ran along the edge of the box and crossed it for Agudelo, who banged it through in the 63rd minute.
That lead, however, didn’t last. Once again, New England found itself flat-footed when Tajouri got on the end of a pass from Herrera and blasted it past Turner in the 75th minute as New York City avoided its first loss of the season.
The Revolution return to action on Mar. 31 at Houston while NYCFC will be back on the pitch Mar. 31 at San Jose.
NE Revolution
NYCFC
