Revolution 1-0 Toronto: Nguyen Pushes New England to Season Finale Victory

The playoffs beckon to the New England Revolution, and they're heading into them in fine form. Toronto FC was the last victim of the regular season, falling 1-0 to a rampaging Revs side that really should have won by far more.

Despite a glut of scoring chances (especially in the second half), only one goal was scored, and that by team MVP Lee Nguyen, who padded his stats to 18 goals on the season. Toronto hit the crossbar and had several chances, but it was a Revolution-dominated match through and through.

Nguyen's goal came on a sequence that really should not have counted. In the 35th minute, Jose Goncalves played a ball over the top of the defense to a running Chris Tierney. Tierney appeared to be offside even after the ball was deflected by a defender, and the linesman's flag went up. The Revs continued the play however, to the confusion of everybody, and Tierney cut the ball back to Nguyen in the box.

At this point, the linesman put his flag down, and no offside was called. The rest of the field, though, including the Revs, paused thinking that the play was dead. When there was no whistle, Nguyen took a touch forward and fired home for the lead. It was a confusing sequence that made little sense, and probably should not have counted.

The Revs created a host of scoring chances but were unable to extend their lead. They had at least three clear chances in the second half alone, but in the end, the defense held and they finished the season with a victory.

New England begins their playoff campaign either Saturday or Sunday, November 1st or 2nd, in Kansas City.