Dube wore his dancing shoes
FOXBOROUGH - Forwards Kenny Mansally and Kheli Dube had their goal celebration planned before last night. After Dube's sixth-minute score in a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes, he led the way to the corner flag to commemorate his first goal as a Major League Soccer player.
"I was doing the same dance on the bench," midfielder Sainey Nyassi said. "It's a Zulu dance - Kenny's mother is from South Africa. We've been practicing it at home."
Dube, formerly with Highlanders in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, became the eighth Revolution player to score this season. The Revolution have also benefited from two own goals, the Earthquakes' James Riley scoring in the 23d minute last night.
Nyassi nearly added goals after replacing Wells Thompson in the 62d minute. Goalkeeper Joe Cannon blocked Nyassi's low shot, Mansally sending the rebound high in the 69th minute.
"Kenny was supposed to finish that," said Nyassi, who played for the first time since April 19. "It was good to be back. I got kicked a few times but I was able to run."
The Revolution won at home for the first time since a season-opening 3-0 victory over Houston. They also hadn't scored at home since that game, losing to Colorado (1-0) and Chicago (3-0).
Taking act on road
Ryan Johnson, who grew up in Roslindale supporting the Revolution, trained with the team before the 2006 MLS draft, but was selected by Real Salt Lake. He then joined the Chicago Fire, Osters IF (Sweden), and the Earthquakes."I was a huge fan of the Revolution," Johnson said before playing as a second-half substitute last night. "They were my home team and I supported them, and it would have been nice to start my career here."
Johnson, 23, scored his first MLS goal in a 3-2 loss to Columbus last week and came on as a second-half substitute last night.
Johnson's organized soccer career started in Dorchester, and Boston University coach Neil Roberts scouted him and defender Kareem Smith playing at Franklin Field, taking them to the South Shore United Blazers club team. But both Johnson (Oregon State) and Smith (South Florida) left the area and now are involved in the national team programs of their parents' native countries - Johnson with Jamaica and Smith with Trinidad & Tobago.
Johnson's father, David, played for Santos FC in Kingston, Jamaica, and in amateur leagues in the Boston area.
"Everyone knows my dad, they call him 'Chicken,' " Johnson said. "I used to go to all his games and now it's his turn to travel to watch me play. He was always No. 5 and when he was playing for Santos, he played against [current Brazil national team coach] Dunga and he got Dunga's No. 5 jersey after the game."
Johnson played for Jamaica in a 1-1 tie with the US in Cary, N.C., two years ago and expects to be recalled to the team while it prepares for World Cup qualifiers.
Preliminary thoughts
The Revolution will play in the preliminary round of the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League. A June 11 draw will determine their opponents in the home-and-away series in late August and early September. Potential foes include Hankook Verdes (Belize), Harbour View FC (Jamaica), Joe Public FC (Trinidad and Tobago), Real Esteli FC (Nicaragua), and Puerto Rico Islanders or San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad and Tobago). Other possibilities include qualifiers from Canada (Impact de Montreal, Toronto FC, or Vancouver Whitecaps), Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras (Motagua or Olimpia), and Panama . . . Assistant coach Paul Mariner participated in the ESPN studio commentary for Portsmouth's 1-0 win over Cardiff in the FA Cup final yesterday. Mariner played for Portsmouth before moving to the US in the 1980s.
