FOXBORO – Hard knocks and bad breaks are difficult to overcome against a high-end opponent.
The New England Revolution (6-1-3) managed an inordinate share of both to secure a 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati (6-1-3) in a battle for first place in the Eastern Conference on Saturday night before 30,080 at Gillette Stadium.
Both teams have 21 points but the Revs get top billing due to goal differential. The Revolution play their next three games on the road beginning with Toronto FC on May 6.
“A hard-fought game, a very physical game and I think the first 10 minutes of the game they dominated us physically,” said Revolution head coach Bruce Arena. “We didn’t adjust to well to it and it took us a little time and it took the referee a little time to sort that stuff up.
“You had two good teams out there fighting and battling and we weren’t going to give in when we went down a goal.”
Arena structured his starting XI with an offensive bent while keeping a key piece in reserve. Gustavo Bou dressed after missing the last two games with a leg injury and was cautiously assigned a substitute role. Bou entered the game the 69th minute and had a quality bid denied by FCC keeper Roman Celentano in the 88th minute.
“He was scrappy but he was a little out of sync,” said Arena. “He’s been out and he is going to need a little time to get back in form but it was good for him to get those 20 to 25 minutes in the game.”
FC Cincinnati made several deep runs in the early going with the most threatening swiftly defused by right back Brandon Bye, who won a pitted one-on-one battle with FCC’s brilliant striker Sergio Santos.
The Revolution suffered a setback in the 16th minute when striker Dylan Borrero went down with a left knee injury while making a defensive play in the midfield. Borrero was in agony when he exited the pitch on a stretcher and was replaced by Esmir Bajarktarevic in the 22nd minute.
“Dylan looks like he has a serious injury,” said Arena. “I haven’t gotten confirmation but I think it is a serious knee injury.”
FC Cincinnati was awarded a penalty kick in the 28th minute when Rennicks was tagged with a hand ball in the box. Luciano Costa’s bid was denied on a diving save by Revs’ keeper Djordje Petrovic. The fans’ euphoria over the save was brief when FCC defender Yerson Mosquera headed home a corner kick to make in 1-0 in the 31st minute.
“It was a difficult game and I think the penalties were maybe a little questionable,” said Arena. “It looked like our player (Rennicks) was outside the penalty area and a big save by Djordje, no question about that.”
The Revolution tied the game 1-1 in stoppage time when Emmanuel Boateng scored on a brilliant crossing pass from Bye for his first of the season.
“Emma played every well and that was a good goal,” said Arena. “I give Brandon credit as well on the good goal.”