Red Bulls defeated Revolution 1-0 at Red Bull Arena
Scott Caldwell and the Revolution midfield was second-best to the Red Bulls on Sunday afternoon
The New England Revolution’s playoff hopes continue to swirl down the drain.
On Sunday afternoon in Harrison, New Jersey, the New York Red Bulls delivered another blow on the Revolution’s season – a 1-0 victory at Red Bull Arena.
Bradley Wright-Phillips converted the game’s lone goal early in the second half to put his team in a two-way tie for third place in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Union.
Meanwhile, the Revolution are again left empty handed. They remain eighth in the Eastern Conference – five points behind D.C. United, who occupy the conference’s sixth and final playoff spot, and have a game in hand.
New England looked nothing like a playoff team on Sunday afternoon. The Red Bulls did, out-shooting the visitors 17-12 but also dominating the run of play.
To be fair, playoff form has been rare for the Revolution in recent weeks. They’ve now been shutout in four consecutive games and have been outscored 14-2 in their last six games. The Revolution also haven’t scored since a 4-1 loss to Toronto on August 6 and haven’t won in league play since a 1-0 victory against the last place Chicago Fire on July 23.
The Red Bulls didn’t leave much room for error. Despite the close scoreline, they dominated the run of play from the outset.
In just the fifth minute, Kemar Lawrence clanged the left post off a feed from Sacha Kljestan.
Aside from that play and Wright-Phillips goal in the second half, Revolution goalkeeper Brad Knighton – who has been starting lately in place of Bobby Shuttleworth – was faultless.
He knocked away a line-drive freekick by Felipe (28th), then blocked another effort by Kljestan at the near post (44th).
The Revolution had a decent bid midway through the first half when Kelyn Rowe flashed a chance wide of the far post and began the second half with energy, but crumbled on the Red Bulls’ goal.
New York’s decisive play started as rookie midfielder Alex Muyl stole the ball from Revolution defender Jose Goncalves in the heart of the penalty area.
Muyl fired to goal, Knighton diving left to make the stop, but the rebound fell to Wright-Phillips, who easily thumped the ball into the back of the net for the game’s only goal.
A crowd of more than 500 Revolution fans made their way down the Red Bull Arena, but ultimatley only got to see Wright-Phillips’ strike and their hometown team’s faulty play.
The Revolution are running out of chances to gain points in the playoff race. They have seven games left, the next of which is at home, on Sept. 3, against the Colorado Rapids.
Follow Julian on Twitter @juliancardillo
New York Red Bulls
New England Revolution
