Castro, Revolution get chippy victory
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - The Revolution figured out another way to win last night.
Mauricio Castro converted the deciding penalty kick after the Revolution and Crystal Palace Baltimore played to a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinals of the 95th US Open Cup at Veterans Stadium.
The Revolution, who won the Cup last year, will visit D.C. United in the semifinals Aug. 12. The Revolution are 9-1-2 overall in their last 12 games.
Castro, who replaced Taylor Twellman in the 120th minute, scooped his shot to the left as goalkeeper Brian Rowland dived right. Twellman departed after reinjuring his ankle, his status undetermined for the Revolution's game against Santos Laguna Sunday in the SuperLiga.
"Penalty kicks are up to each individual and I don't care how they want to take them as long as they go in," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said.
The Revolution took the lead on Kenny Mansally's sixth-minute goal off a Brandon Tyler through ball. Crystal Palace, an affiliate of a London-based Championship-level club, tied the score as Dan Lader finished a corner kick in the 20th minute.
The Revolution went with a 4-4-2 alignment, similar to what they used in a 3-0 win over Richmond in a Cup match last week.
Twellman had a role in Mansally's goal, checking back to the center circle, sending the ball to Tyler. His one-timer split the defense, Mansally running onto the ball, then rounding Rowland to score into an open net.
Crystal Palace threatened, thanks to the speed of forwards Gary Brooks and Matthew Mbuta, whose point-blank shot was saved by keeper Doug Warren in the 13th minute, and Brooks's shot a minute later was cleared off the line by Amaechi Igwe.
Brooks chased down a long ball to earn a corner in the 20th minute. Bryan Harkin, formerly of the Cape Cod Crusaders and Fairfield University, sent the corner to the near post, where it was flicked on, leading to a poor clearance. Lader's low drive from the edge of the penalty area sliced through a crowd of defenders past Warren, who was screened.
The Revolution dominated the second half, their best chance to decide the contest squandered as Pat Phelan headed high off a Chris Tierney corner in the 88th minute.
"I thought whipping balls in was the way to get a goal," Tierney said. "But their center backs made it difficult. It's tough to score when they have two hands wrapped firmly around you."
Twellman said he was injured as a Crystal Palace defender stepped on his foot, one of several fouls he said were not called. "We were laughing about it," Twellman said. "One of their guys football-tackled [Revolution defender] Sam Brill into me. But what are you going to do? We won and that's what matters."
