FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In one of their cleanest performances of the season the New England Revolution rode two goals from Charlie Davies and benefitted from a Jozy Altidore red card to sink Toronto FC, 3-1, at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.
Entering the match without the services of captain Michael Bradley, Toronto saw things spiral out of control in the span of eight minutes late in the opening half, allowing the Revolution to capitalize on their early dominance of the match.
After controlling the pace of the play for the majority of the first half, the Revolution struck first in the 35th minute off of a beautiful set piece. It started with a Lee Nguyen free kick from about 35 yards out that was hit over the top, finding Kelyn Rowe, who one-touched it in front of the goalmouth where Davies knocked home his eighth goal of the season and first in seven matches.
Four minutes later, Altidore and Jose Goncalves got tangled up on a 50-50 ball, but the Toronto FC captain seemed to take umbrage with the New England captain’s effort. As Goncalves fell to the turf, Altidore turned and kicked out at him, earning a straight red card.
In the 43rd minute, and now down to ten men, Toronto put the Revolution on the spot when Benoit Cheyrou pulled down Kelyn Rowe in the box during a Chris Tierney free kick. Nguyen then buried New England’s second penalty kick opportunity of the season.
Greg Vanney pulled Designated Player Sebastian Giovinco at halftime. Giovinco had been listed as questionable coming into the match due to injury.
The Revolution continued to dominate in most facets of the game after the break, leading to their three-goal lead in the 62nd minute off of another free kick. This time it was taken from the right sideline by Tierney and cleaned up in front by Davies, who buried a bouncer for his ninth on the year.
The visitors were able to get one back in the 75th minute when Marco Delgado found Jonathan Osorio at the top of the box. With time enough to set, Osorio blasted near post past the diving Bobby Shuttleworth.
A moment later, the 21,363 in attendance welcomed Jermaine Jones back as he subbed on in the 75th minute, making his first appearance since May 31 following bilateral hernia surgery.
Toronto FC will return home to host Orlando City this Wednesday. New England will enjoy their first weekend off of the season before welcoming the Houston Dynamo on August 15.
