Revs double up on Galaxy
The Revs took advantage of two defensive mistakes made by the Galaxy, Franchino left all alone to slot one home in the opening minutes before midfielder Cancela's 72nd-minute penalty kick proved to be the difference.
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The Galaxy dominated possession in the first half, but went into the locker room down a goal due in part to an early missed chance and a defensive lapse.
The Los Angeles attack broke out of the gate quickly, and the Galaxy had their first chance three minutes in. Forward Jovan Kirovski burst through the Revolution defense to the left of the goal and played a ball across the box for strike partner Carlos Ruiz. The leading goal-scorer in MLS had an open net to shoot at, but was unable to get a shot off thanks to a backtracking New England defender.
Immediately after spoiling the Galaxy's first opportunity, the Revs made the most of their first effort on goal. In the fourth minute, Revs striker Taylor Twellman dribbled the ball into the box and back-heeled the ball past two Galaxy defenders to Pat Noonan. Noonan found Franchino totally unmarked to his left, and the Revs captain easily slotted the ball home inside the far post.
After the goal, the Galaxy developed a more organized attack, but had few efforts on goal, as New England crowded their own penalty area and blanketed both Ruiz and Kirovski.
In the 24th minute, the Revs could have easily doubled the lead, as the Galaxy defense failed to mark in the middle of their own box. Cancela served a free kick toward the far post directly to defender Jay Heaps, who had shed his marker. Heaps, however, was unable to make solid contact with the ball and hit it weakly to Galaxy 'keeper Kevin Hartman.
At the other end, the Galaxy continued to press, searching for holes in the attacking third. In the 30th minute, rookie Joseph Ngwenya found some room as he took the ball toward the near post, beating two defenders in the process. Alone on goal but confronted with a difficult angle, Ngwenya played the ball toward the middle of the box. None of Ngwenya's teammates were in the area, however, and the Revs were able to clear.
While the pace of the game slowed down in the second half, the Revs were saved by the bar in the 52nd minute after giving up a free kick just outside the penalty area. Galaxy midfielder Ned Grabavoy played the ball into the middle of the box, where Kirovski rose to meet it. His header beat 'keeper Adin Brown, but struck the bar squarely and was cleared by the Revolution.
Five minutes later, Hartman prevented the Revolution from extending their lead. New England midfielder Steve Ralston played a give-and-go with Noonan to get in free on goal, but Hartman denied his shot from point-blank range.
Not to be outdone, Brown then foiled the best Galaxy chance of the match. Grabavoy played a nearly perfect through ball for Ruiz, who was sprinting toward the goal. Ruiz made good contact, but Brown got down to block the shot.
In the 71st minute, another defensive mistake by the Galaxy left them down two goals. As Ralston rushed toward the end line to track down a through ball, Los Angeles defender Paul Broome bumped Ralston with his shoulder, knocking him to the turf. Referee Kevin Terry immediately called for a penalty kick, and Cancela converted to double the New England advantage.
The Galaxy immediately turned up the pressure in an attempt to fight their way back into the match. Forward Alejandro Moreno came on for Grabavoy, and for nearly ten minutes, Los Angeles attacked the New England end, their best chance coming off a 20-yard Ruiz strike that was parried by Brown.
In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Ruiz nearly extended his four-match goal-scoring stretch with a hard shot that trickled through Brown's legs and was headed for the net. Moreno got the final touch, diving in to touch the ball home on the goal line just in front of Heaps.
The Revolution travel to Denver Friday night to take on the Colorado Rapids at Invesco Field at Mile High (9:30 p.m. ET), while the Galaxy head to Dallas to play the Burn at the Cotton Bowl (4 p.m. ET; ESPN2).
MLSnet.com Man of the Match: Adin Brown
Scoring Summary:
NE -- Joe Franchino 1 (Taylor Twellman 1, Pat Noonan 1) 4
NE -- Jose Cancela 1 (unassisted) 72
LA -- Alejandro Moreno 1 (Carlos Ruiz 2) 96+
Los Angeles Galaxy -- Kevin Hartman, Paul Broome, Tyrone Marshall, Ryan Suarez, Chris Albright, Andreas Herzog, Joseph Ngwenya (Arturo Torres 56), Ned Grabavoy (Alejandro Moreno 75), Marcelo Saragosa, Carlos Ruiz, Jovan Kirovski (Guillermo Gonzalez 85).
Substitutes Not Used: Ricky Lewis, Dan Popik.
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (Carlos Ruiz 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Carlos Ruiz 2); FOULS: 23 (Marcelo Saragosa 5); OFFSIDES: 4 (Andreas Herzog 2); CORNER KICKS: 13 (Andreas Herzog 7); SAVES: 2 (Kevin Hartman 2)
New England Revolution -- Adin Brown, Marshall Leonard, Jay Heaps, Shalrie Joseph, Brian Kamler, Steve Ralston, Jose Cancela (Andy Dorman 79), Joe Franchino, Clint Dempsey, Taylor Twellman, Pat Noonan.
Substitutes Not Used: Richie Baker, Felix Brillant, Matt Reis, Luke Vercollone.
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Joe Franchino 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (4 tied with 1); FOULS: 21 (Taylor Twellman 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 4 (Jose Cancela 4); SAVES: 5 (Adin Brown 5)
Misconduct Summary:
LA -- Carlos Ruiz (caution; Reckless Foul) 27
LA -- Chris Albright (caution; Reckless Foul) 42
NE -- Jay Heaps (caution; Reckless Foul) 52
LA -- Ned Grabavoy (caution; Reckless Foul) 65
LA -- Marcelo Saragosa (caution; Reckless Foul) 86
LA -- Ryan Suarez (caution; Reckless Foul) 92+
Referee: Kevin Terry
Referee's Assistants: -Kermit Quisenberry; Bill Dittmar
4th Official: Mark Geiger
Attendance: 13,811
Time of Game: 1:55
Weather: Clear-and-74-degrees
All Statistics contained in this boxscore are unofficial.
