New England placed one foot firmly in the Eastern Conference final with a stunning 4-2 victory at Columbus on Saturday afternoon.
These two sides entered the first leg of their semifinal tie as the two form teams in MLS, but the Revs grasped control of the game from the outset with their high pressure and their marauding intent and never let it slip.
Charlie Davies opened the scoring just after the half hour, while Chris Tierney doubled the advantage with a sumptuous free kick early in the second half. Justin Meram produced a response for the Crew in the 63rd minute, but Lee Nguyen completed a fine solo run with a tidy finish to restore the two-goal lead seven minutes later. Davies thumped home his second in the final 10 minutes to grab the Revs' fourth, but Federico Higuain threw his side a late lifeline from the spot to reduce the deficit.
Higuain's late penalty provided the Crew with a sliver of hope ahead of the second leg at Gillette Stadium next Sunday, but the Revolution will enter that match as heavy favorites to advance after their rampant showing at Crew Stadium.
"It is always difficult to play on the road, and I thought we did a nice job tonight," Revolution coach Jay Heaps told reporters after the match. "It was a battle all the way through, a lot of goals and a lot of chances. I thought we probably could have had more. In the end, you want to get goals and get points on the road so that was good for us."
The compelling form for both teams shined through in a particularly engaging first half. New England opted to press high from the outset in search of an away goal or two. Columbus' resulting discomfort stretched out the game vertically and provided plenty of space for both teams to play.
Much of the give and take favored the visitors as the Crew adjusted to the demands and watched the Revs dominate the proceedings in the middle third. Steve Clark nearly found himself caught out in distribution inside the first 10 minutes, but the home side scrambled clear. Clark then blocked away Andrew Farrell's angled drive as the Revs continued to assert their will on the game.
Columbus eventually settled as the first half progressed and started to find more time in possession. Tony Tchani used the time allotted to play a cutting, vertical pass up the left. Justin Meram glided onto the pass and sliced inside to fire on goal. The effort beat Bobby Shuttleworth, but it deflected off the underside of the bar and bounced clear.
The poor slice of luck ultimately came back to haunt the Crew as the Revs took the lead from a well-worked set piece after 34 minutes. Rowe delivered an enticing ball into the space allotted behind the Crew's high defensive line. Davies made a late run to catch out his marker and then flung himself at the ball to turn home with a diving header.
Davies' opener changed the calculus for the Crew with away goals now in effect in the MLS postseason. It forced Columbus to pursue the game even more earnestly and leave gaps for the Revolution to exploit when they won possession.
New England explored the space well and forced the Crew to concede fouls inside their own half to thwart those breaks. Tyson Wahl's lunge on Rowe in one such instance set the stage for the Revs' second seven minutes into the second half.
Several Revolution players took a glance at the free kick on the edge of the Crew area. Nguyen eventually ran over it to pave the way for Tierney to take it with his left. Tierney vindicated the choice by curling over the wall with his left foot and tucking his free kick inside the far post to double the advantage.
Columbus improved after conceding the second and struck back just after the hour. The response arrived after a period of sustained pressure and resulted from a clever square pass by Wil Trapp at the near post. Higuain let the ball come across him to permit Meram to delicately curl home with his first-time effort.
The visitors quelled any thoughts of a comeback by exposing the Crew's reluctant defending on the break and securing a third in the 70th minute. Nguyen stormed forward on the break and watched the Crew stand off him in a three-versus-three situation. He shimmied around Wahl, sliced onto his right foot and tucked inside the far post to essentially secure the points before final quarter of an hour.
Davies punished the Crew for its continued reluctance to step forward on runners by snatching the fourth in the final 10 minutes. He sauntered into plenty of space on the edge of the penalty area and then smashed his effort inside the far post past the stranded Clark.
"For us, I think as we were chasing the game, we opened up a lot of space," Crew coach Gregg Berhalter told reporters after the match. "As we opened up a lot of space, you put defenders in uncomfortable positions, and it’s how you handle those situations. Today, more often than not, we made the wrong decision in how we are going to deal with that situation, and it puts you in a hole."
Columbus huffed and puffed in its bid to reduce the arrears and received a gift from José Gonçalves seconds from the end to claim it.
Gonçalves handled an Ethan Finlay cross in the dying embers to prompt Drew Fischer to point to the spot. Higuain clipped home a Panenka to reduce the deficit, but the Crew will travel to Gillette Stadium needing to score at least three goals to reverse this considerable deficit and claim a place in the Eastern Conference final.
