The New England Revolution look to remain atop the Eastern Conference when they host reeling Sporting Kansas City on Saturday at Foxborough, Mass.
The Revolution (5-1-2, 17 points) are coming off a disappointing 1-1 draw against the host Columbus Crew, who equalized in the 98th minute last Saturday.
Kansas City (0-5-3, 3 points) remained at the bottom of the Western Conference following a 3-0 loss on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday.
New England is ahead of FC Cincinnati on goal differential (plus-6 to plus-1) for the lead in the Eastern Conference. Kansas City is just one of two teams in the league, along with the Los Angeles Galaxy, that has yet to win a game.
While Kansas City has scored a league-low two goals — one each by Daniel Salloi and William Agada — so far, New England hasn’t had trouble putting the ball into the back of the net.
Dylan Borrero, Carles Gill, Bobby Wood and Gustavo Bou all are tied for the team lead with two goals, while Gill also has a team-high three assists.
The Revs took a 1-0 lead last weekend when Crew defender Milos Degenek deflected Borrero’s cross into his own goal in the 58th minute. But the Crew equalized just before the final whistle when Sean Zawadzki headed Lucas Zelarayan’s cross past goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
New England coach Bruce Arena was critical of the officiating in which eight minutes of stoppage time were added.
‘Our guys did a good job, played real hard,” said Arena, whose team is on a five-game unbeaten streak. “I think game management by the officiating crew and the VAR at the end was very poor. They scored, on my watch, in the 98th minute, so I’m disappointed with all of that. It’s that simple.”
Meanwhile, Kansas City conceded a goal in the ninth minute before falling apart in the 38th minute when defender Robert Castellanos was given a red card for taking down Jeremy Ebobisse in the penalty box.
Ebobisse calmly slotted his penalty kick into the net after getting Sporting KC goalie Tim Melia to commit to the wrong side for a 2-0 lead in the 40th minute. Ebobisse capped the scoring with a goal in the 51st minute, as Sporting Kansas City was blanked for the sixth time in eight games this season.
“I do know this: The guys didn’t walk into the game feeling sorry for themselves, and that’s a good thing,” Kansas City coach Peter Vermes said. “We’ve got to try that mentality that you can turn things around, and I believe that these guys can.”
–Field Level Media
