FOXBORO – The New England Revolution advanced to round four of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 victory over Hartford Athletic on Tuesday night at Gillette Stadium.
Hartford Athletic (1-4-2) competes in the United Soccer League.
The Revolution (7-1-2) extended their unbeaten streak to seven games and improved to 5-0-1 at home. The Revolution resume MLS play at Gillette on Saturday night (7:30) against FC Cincinnati with first place in the Eastern Conference up for grabs.
“All of these things are a little bit challenging and this stuff gets a little bit crazy,” said Revolution head coach Bruce Arena. “Our players have to learn to play three games in a week.
“This is the first time this year we are put to that test and we are going to need to prevail in these types of situations. As we move into the second half of the MLS season, we will be playing games in the middle of the week as well.”
Arena promised to put a competitive team on the pitch against Hartford following the Revs 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on April 22. But with FC Cincinnati and the Revolution locked in a first-place tie, Arena front-loaded his starting XI against Hartford with veteran substitutes and rookies.
The Revolution settled into a possession game that featured a high volume of successful passes and few credible scoring threats. The Revolution’s fortunes changed in the 13th minute on their first set piece of the match.
Midfielder Damian Rivera spiked a line drive from the right corner to Justin Rennicks in the box. The striker from South Hamilton got his head on the ball and beat Hartford keeper Richard Sanchez to the near post for his first of the season. Sanchez denied Rennicks’ bid for a brace by winning a foot race to the ball in the 24th minute.
“One goal is great but I wanted to get another and maybe two more but we still won and that is OK,” said Rennicks. “It was a front post run and luckily the ball was played a little bit short and I was able to scoop it through.
“When it is on goal anything can happen.”
Hartford tied the game 1-1 with a transition goal in the 53rd minute. Striker Prince Saydee streaked the right flank, split two Revolution’ defenders and made a perfect cross to forward Antoine Hoppenot in the penalty area. Hoppenot redirected the ball by keeper Earl Edwards Jr. inside the far post for his first of the season.
Arena made major alterations in the 71st minute when he inserted regulars Carles Gil, Brandon Bye, Dave Romney, and Emmanuel Boateng into the match. The substitutions paid off when Gil set up Romney for the go-ahead goal in the 76th minute.
“I would not have played Carles Gil tonight if we didn’t need a goal,” said Arena. “As the game went on, we knew we were going to bring Carles in and he was the last to warm up.”