Somewhat shaky win

Revolution get by vs. Earthquakes

Ned Grabavoy tries to give San Jose a leg up against Jeff Larentowicz and the Revolution. (Michael Dwyer/Associated Press)

FOXBOROUGH - The Revolution plan to have Taylor Twellman in the lineup when they visit Eastern Conference leader Columbus Saturday. But they did not need Twellman last night, as Kheli Dube scored six minutes into his first MLS start to help the Revolution take a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.

Dube, replacing Twellman (right ankle sprain), provided the Revolution's fastest score of the season, then a 23d-minute own goal by former New England defender James Riley allowed them to coast to victory.

The Revolution (5-3-1, 16 points) dominated possession early, playing through Shalrie Joseph and Steve Ralston in midfield and Mauricio Castro on the left wing. The Revolution's passing game and sense of purpose kept the Earthquakes (1-5-1, 4 points) pinned back defensively, a free kick setting up the first goal, and Dube's pressure leading to the second.

San Jose switched to a five-midfielder setup to counter the Revolution's five-man midfield, moving Riley forward after he headed in the own goal. In the second half, the Earthquakes went to two strikers, creating chances and nearly capitalizing on a late Revolution letdown.

"As good as we were in the first half, we were bad in the second half," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said. "Two-nil up and we could have been more. We were passing, switching the play. It was good to watch, it certainly was from where I was."

Dube, who played for Zimbabwe's junior national teams before enrolling in college in the US, made an opportunistic finish to score. Ralston earned a free kick following a Ramiro Corrales foul, then sent the ball skidding through the penalty area. Joseph touched the ball through to Dube, who went past defender Eric Denton inside the goal area for the Revolution's earliest goal since a 12th-minute own goal by Kansas City April 9.

The Revolution continued to dominate possession and pressured defenders. Midfielder Jeff Larentowicz chipped the ball to the penalty arc to begin what appeared to be an unthreatening Revolution advance. With Dube approaching at full speed, Riley headed on the bounce as goalkeeper Joe Cannon advanced out of the net, the ball rolling slowly into the goal.

"I wanted to pressure them and make them make a mistake," Dube said. "It was a miscommunication between their guys. They saw me coming and didn't know what to do."

Dube paired with Kenny Mansally at forward, their first extended playing time together.

San Jose added Roslindale's Ryan Johnson in place of Ronnie O'Brien at the start of the second half, the move giving the Earthquakes a more dynamic attack, forcing the Revolution to block shots by Ned Grabavoy (53d minute), Ivan Guerrero (54th), and Kei Kamara (60th) before a Kamara header went high.

The Revolution offense stagnated until Sainey Nyassi replaced Wells Thompson on the right wing in the 62d minute. Nyassi, making his first appearance since the Revolution visited New York April 24, energized the attack. His 69th-minute shot was blocked by Cannon, and Mansally sent the rebound high over an open net. Nyassi's 72d-minute run on wing ended in a left-foot shot sliding wide, then he was taken down by Corrales (81st) and Johnson (93d), who were cautioned by referee Terry Vaughn.

"We felt as though we were kind of dead," Nicol said of the Nyassi substitution. "And he certainly did [improve the attack]. But we stopped getting him the ball. We have to be smart enough to keep feeding the guy."

The Revolution appeared to let down during added time, as they did in a 2-1 win at Chivas USA last week, Corrales hitting the bar with a late shot from 30 yards, the Earthquakes' best chance.

"We came out and put them under pressure from the start, and we got the early goal," Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst said. "But the more a team stays in it, the more confidence they get. If they had scored next, it would have been a whole new game. We weren't sitting back, we were going for the third goal, but it just didn't happen."