Revolution 1, Fire 2: First Thoughts

• No David Accam...we’ll see what that means...
• Unbeaten in the last 8. World Beaters.
• Speaking of that, the Revs haven’t lost at home since last year. Time for the Men in Red to change that!

FIRST THOUGHT: After beating the Revs 3-0 at home last time, we now take a swing at beating them on the road. I don’t necessarily think it’ll happen...I’m looking at a 1-1 draw.

KICKOFF!!!

1 - We’re not even 60 seconds in and Basti pings a beautiful ball to Vincent down the left. It’s magical to see that guy play for the Fire.

4 - Fire look pretty confident on the ball. With, IMO, the best back 4 in the league, a dominant midfield, and a striker that can score, they need to flex their muscle more often when it comes to possession.

7 - New England starting to press a bit, see if they can force the Fire into making a mistake.

9 - Meira not afraid to bang bodies with Kamara. Need to be physical in this matchup.

14 - Revs first good chance, and Lampson sniffs out a pass along the goal line.

14 - Nikolic offsides. Glad he’s back! Now get a goal!

18 - FIRE GOAL! NIKOLIC GOALLLLLLLLLL! RIGHT ON CUE!!!! 1-0 FIRE!!!!!

19 - Wow. Nikolic made a PHENOMENAL bending run to stay onsides, and the defender had no chance. Cropper made a good first save but the rebound came straight to Niko. It’s worth every offside.

21 - YELLOW CARD - NEW ENGLAND - ROWE

26 - Polster with a phenomenal defensive effort, wound up winning a goal kick. The Fire truly have two rock solid full backs.

29 - Weekly PSA: I love Brandon Vincent. He cuts in on his right, and narrowly misses the top left corner with a rocket shot!

30 - Kamara gets behind Meira on a run, who slots it across goal, and it’s steered wide by Fagundez. Fire got a gift, there.

31 - Fire are getting tested right now. Need to hold up these last 15 minutes...

32 - Fagundez just ripped a shot narrowly wide, and I don’t think Lampson had it covered.

33 - Fagundez just missed again. If this goes into halftime 1-1, I’ll be shocked.

37 - Ohhhhh, Lucho Lucho Lucho...juuuuuust missed a close range chance.

37 - Rowe JUST misses wide, and the Revs miss yet ANOTHER opportunity!

42 - Revs attack seems to be slowing down a bit...some really nervy times there.

HALFTIME THOUGHT: Fire have weathered the best of New England’s storm, but they’ll need to figure out a better plan at halftime.

49 - Lampson saves another Fagundez effort...corner for the Revolution.

50 - Soli on a good counter, but with a bit of a heavy touch. He’s flashed this season, but he still seems to be figuring this league out.

51 - Meira down with an apparent head injury.

58 - New England bringing the heat again, this is a massive test of the Fire’s resolve and their counterattacking abilities. They really need another goal, or any points could be in jeopardy.

61 - LUCHOOOOOOOOO GOALLLLLLLLLL!!!! FIRE 2-0!!!! - Another flash from Solignac as Niko chips a pass, de Leeuw flicks it on, and Solignac takes a touch and rolls it past Cropper!

65 - The Revolution have not lost in their last 11 matches at home. Absolute scenes.

70 - GOAL. REVOLUTION. 2-1, FIRE. - Lampson can’t get a touch on a cross in, and he vacates his post, leading to an easy header for Delemea.

73 - Jonathan Campbell coming in for Solignac. Need defensive reinforcements for the final push.

74 - Kappelhof makes a vital touch to keep Kamara from having a chance. This is going to be a really nerve wrecking last 15...

79 - I don’t really feel that worried about the Revs scoring. Their only goal was on a fluky play and I trust our defenders to take care of business.

81- Worst nightmare. Bastian Schweinsteiger is down in some pain, looks like he took a knee to the hip...

82 - The Revs just missed yet another opportunity. Kappelhof beat and the shot trickles wide.

83 - Arturo Alvarez coming on for Michael de Leeuw. Adding bodies in midfield, hoping to drain some clock VIA possession.

85 - Impressed with the turnout here in Foxborough. Hoping we can do the same next week for fireworks weekend.

86 - Nguyen fires over the bar! Great opportunity missed yet AGAIN!

88 - A few corners here for New England...and a barrage of shots blocked. This is intense.

90 - A chance, yet AGAIN, goes sailing over the bar for the Revs! Nguyen put it on a golden plate for Koffie, but he can’t finish.

FOUR MINUTES ADDED ON!

90+1 - Alvarez goes down...

90+2 - Drew Conner coming on for Nikolic. Final sub.

90+4 - Nguyen NAILS a shot, straight at Lampson who finds a way to stop it...

FINAL THOUGHT: That. Was. Tough. What a performance, possibly the most impressive of the season. To band together as a team and pull out that 3 points...wow. THE FIRE ARE ON FIRE!