Revolution 4-2 Red Bulls: Rowe Fires New England to Open Cup Quarterfinals

The New England Revolution took care of business in their first-ever match within the Boston city limits, taking down the New York Red Bulls by a score of 4-2. Much like the victory over Rochester from a few weeks ago, it was the Kelyn Rowe show, as the young midfielder scored the first two goals in the first half and generally put in an excellent performance in just under 60 minutes.

The Red Bulls were coming off of an extended rest period, having last played on June 1st, and their lineup reflected it. They were missing key players like Henry, Cahill, and Olave, but nonetheless sent out usual starters Juninho, Fabian Espindola, Dax McCarty, and Heath Pearce, among others. The Revs, for their part, did much the same thing as they did against Rochester, putting out an eleven that wasn't exactly first-choice, but didn't seem weak, either.

It took all of four minutes for Rowe to assert his presence in the game. His left-footed drive from the top of the box beat Ryan Meara low to the near post, putting the Revs in front early. New York, however, would tie things up in the 30th minute when Darrius Barnes made an awful mistake with a back-pass. He flicked it too lightly, putting it right in Espindola's path, and the Argentine touched past Reis before finishing in an open net.

Then it was Rowe's turn again, and in the 37th minute he re-established the lead. His right-footed strike from the top of the 18 made it 2-1, and that was the lead that the Revs took into halftime.

Dimitry Imbongo was a hard worker all night against New York, bruising with the Red Bulls' center-backs and struggling to create chances for himself and others. In the 51st minute he was rewarded, as Barnes lofted a ball over the top to him that sprung Imbongo into the box. Dimitry showed great strength to control it, and then finished from a tight angle to make it 3-1.

New York made it interesting by cutting it to 3-2. Again Barnes was at fault, completely losing Jonny Steele in the box and allowing the forward to score an uncontested header.

Luckily, substitute Chris Tierney was there to put the finishing touches away late. Ryan Guy let fly and forced a save from Meara, but the rebound fell to Tierney on the left, who buried it easily to leave no doubt.

The Revs will now face D.C. United in the quarterfinals in Maryland on Wednesday, June 26th.