Chris Rolfe had the game-winning goal for DC in the first round of the playoffs against the Revolution. Photo/Kari Heistad
It seemed as though the New England Revolution were on their way to winning another playoff game in classic team fashion, but a poor second half performance doomed them against DC United on Wednesday night.
Juan Agudelo scored for the Revolution in the 15th minute of the round one, single-game elimination match with a bicycle kick goal eerily similar to one club legend Taylor Twellman scored in the 2007 Eastern Conference Final.
But DC, who entered the game seeded one spot above the Revolution in fourth place, rallied through goals by Chris Pontius and Chris Rolfe.
The intensity was high throughout the contest. This was a game that featured dozens of fouls, three shots that hit the post, a missed penalty kick, and the Revolution’s Jermaine Jones getting sent-off in second half stoppage time by referee Mark Geiger.
The action began early, Rolfe going in alone on goal, his low drive saved by the Revolution’s Bobby Shuttleworth in the fourth minute.
In the 15th minute, the Revolution scored on their first real chance of the game. Kevin Alston advanced from his right back position further up the wing, and then played a left-footed cross to the heart of the area for Agudelo, who acrobatically swung at the feed and nestled it into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Kelyn Rowe had two point-blank bids stopped by Hamid moments later, and then Jones hit a left-footed shot off the far post following the remnants of a miscleared corner kick.
Toward the middle of the first half, DC began finding their rhythm and started to boss the attack. Rolfe missed another chance in the 26th minute, this time hitting the underside of the crossbar after the ball fell to his feet inside the penalty area, and in the 42nd minute Fabian Espindola forced Shuttleworth to sprawl to his left to knock away a goal-bound shot.
DC finally responded in the 44th minute as Andrew Farrell dragged down Espindola just outside the box, prompting Geiger to call a freekick. On the ensuing play, Espindola found Pontius in the heart of the penalty area, his header bouncing inside the side netting to make it 1-1.
The Revolution struggled to create much in the final third in the second half, though DC seemed to be picking up steam.
In the 75th minute, Geiger awarded the hosts a penalty as Scott Caldwell’s right arm blocked an Espindola cross. But Rolfe missed the ensuing kick, his shot skidding out of the box after clanking off the left post.
The Revolution were unable to make the most of that lifeline, though, as DC scored only moments later. The pivotal play came in the 83rd minute, Nick Deleon finding Espindola in space on the left side of the box. Espindola then squared it for Rolfe, who had freed himself from his marker quickly enough to tap the ball past Shuttleworth for the 2-1 lead.
The Revolution tried to claw their way back, but time wasn’t on their side. That said, they came close to scoring three times through Jones, who missed at the near post before having his point-blank header off a Daigo Kobayashi cross saved by Hamid.
Jones’ third effort was the most controversial. Just before the 90-minute mark, Jones played a bouncing ball off both of Sean Franklin’s hands and immediately signaled to the referee and his assistant to award a penalty kick. But Geiger waved play-on, which prompted Jones to rapidly approach Geiger and plead his case.
Jones, who was already on a yellow card due to a hard challenge on Perry Kitchen, was shown another yellow card and subsequently got ejected.
At the end of the year, Jones’ contract will likely expire meaning that his getting ejected could be his last contribution to the Revolution. He likely would have wanted to go out on a higher note.
Then again, so did the Revolution.
If you want to reach Julian email him at julianccardillo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @juliancardillo
