Revolution map out a win
Shutout secures SuperLiga semis
FOXBOROUGH - For the Revolution, this year’s SuperLiga tournament has pushed the usual challenges that come with defending a title to new heights.
New England blew a lead against Kansas City Wednesday with an own goal in the 85th minute, resulting in a 1-1 tie.
To complicate matters, the Revolution went into yesterday’s game against Atlas missing seven players because of injuries, and Mike Videira also was unavailable because of a suspension stemming from a red card in Wednesday’s match.
But this Revolution team is showing it won’t go down without a fight. Kenny Mansally’s goal in the 32d minute propelled New England to a 1-0 victory over Atlas in its third and final game of group play.
The Revolution advance to play the Chicago Fire in the semifinals July 15 at Gillette Stadium.
The Revolution were not fazed by the physical nature of the game and did not let the injuries affect their effort.
“You’ve just got to keep your head, be strong, and be solid,’’ coach Steve Nicol said. “In this sort of circumstance, in these types of games . . . I just thought they handled it well.’’
New England missed a golden opportunity to take an early lead following an Atlas turnover, as Nico Colaluca ripped a shot off the right post.
The luck turned for the Revolution in the 32d minute when Mansally scored off a pass from Kheli Dube.
The game was very chippy, with six cards (five yellow, one red) distributed and 30 fouls called. Jeff Larentowicz, Amaechi Igwe, and Emmanuel Osei drew yellows for New England. Osei’s was his second of the tournament and resulted in his automatic suspension for the semifinal.
A particularly testy moment came when Sainey Nyassi inadvertently clipped the ankle of an Atlas player from behind in the 55th minute, and the irate visitors unsuccessfully demanded a red card from referee Ricardo Cerdas Sanchez. Atlas’s Dario Bottinelli drew a yellow card for arguing.
“The longer it was 1-0, they were getting frustrated,’’ Colaluca said. “Nobody likes to lose, and everybody handles it differently . . . it got a little chippy.’’
The frustration over the non-call seemed to spark Atlas, which attacked the Revolution net with increased frenzy. Edgar Pacheco narrowly missed a goal in the 60th minute when he clanged a shot off the left post, and Darvin Chavez was similarly frustrated in the 63d when he rattled a chance off the crossbar.
In between, New England keeper Matt Reis made a great diving save to his left on a shot from Hebert Alferez.
In the 85th minute, Atlas damaged its comeback hopes when Gerardo Espinoza was sent off with a red card following a collision with Wells Thompson. Thompson was held back by teammates before he was able to retaliate. 