Twellman's Milestone Goal Leads New England Past New York

Against a hapless New York side, veteran striker Taylor Twellman scores his 100th goal—and his 101st, for good measure—as the Revolution attack explodes in a 4-0 win.

Jun 7, 2009 11:43:48 PM

More On : New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls

One hundred goals. It’s a mythical mark in top-level soccer. Heading into this season, only four players had reached the milestone in Major League Soccer.

Now, a fifth has joined the club. New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman headed home his 100th career goal in the 56th minute as the Revs trounced the New York Red Bulls, 4-0, on Sunday evening at Gillette Stadium.

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First Half

The game marked a milestone of a different sort for Twellman’s teammate Jay Heaps, who made his 300th career MLS appearance. The veteran left back was active from the beginning, serving a 10th-minute cross into the New York area, where Sainey Nyassi missed the ball with his header. It was a good sign of things considering the Revolution possessed the league’s least-effective offense entering the game.

Two minutes later, the first good chance came for the Revolution. Shalrie Joseph, starting up top rather than in his usual midfield role, sprayed the ball wide to Nyassi, who beat defender Jeremy Hall and fizzed a shot at the far post. Jon Conway’s save fell nicely to the Steve Ralston, but the Revs striker was muscled off the ball by Luke Sassano. The home side had a half-decent shout for the penalty, but referee Abbey Okulaja waved play on.

That decision led directly to a chance at the other end. Nick Zimmerman, making his first start of the season—everyone on the New York has now started a game as a consequence of coach Juan Carlos Osorio’s constant tinkering—slalomed down the right side and played the ball in to Dane Richards. The Jamaican’s toed shot ricocheted across the area, skipping just past a sliding Juan Pablo Angel.

New York then started to control the midfield, keeping possession through Sassano and Albert Celades, but they were ineffective in creating any chances. Until the 34th minute. Sassano was given space on the left side and his curled cross found Angel in a seam of space. Unfortunately, the Colombian mistimed his jump and popped his header over the bar.

It was a bit of luck for the Revolution considering Angel’s usual lethal nature in the air. And just before the half, New England made the visitors pay for their failure. A simple through-ball from Nyassi sprang Ralston in behind the New York defense. His low cross bounced around in the middle and fell kindly to Joseph, who side-footed a ball to his left into an empty space. For a second, there seemed to be no one there, until Heaps appeared and calmly side-footed home for his first goal of the season.

Second Half

A halftime switch by Revolution coach Steve Nicol brought on Twellman for Pat Phelan, and repositioned Joseph in his more familiar holding midfield role. A similar move last week inspired the Revs to a 2-1 come from behind victory over DC. Meanwhile, New York were trying to get their first win on the road this season. In fact, they had not even scored away from the Big Apple in six tries so far.

But a 12-minute burst from New England soon after the restart crushed New York’s chances of three points. First, Ralston hit with a soaring header in the 52nd minute. Heaps again was the catalyst, stripping Zimmerman of the ball deep in the left corner. Heaps’s picture-perfect cross was met with an equally photographic header from Ralston, the ball sailing in off the inside of the far post.

Four minutes later, Twellman took the spotlight. A high cross from Joseph cleared the New York defense and Twellman, who had slipped away from his marker much too easily, headed a shot past a stranded Conway. No goalkeeper should be abandoned that way against a prolific scorer like Twellman, especially when he’s going for his 100th goal. Immediately, Gillette Stadium erupted and Twellman was mobbed by his teammates.

But he wasn’t done. Just eight minutes later, he brought the crowd to its feet again. A cross from Kenny Mansally was poorly dealt with by Seth Stammler and fell kindly to Ralston. He made a square pass to Twellman, who took a touch and buried his shot under Conway.

With the score 4-0, and Osorio’s head hanging heavily on the sidelines, New York tried to at least show some spirit. Angel kept battling, his sliding shot in the 67th minute being saved by Matt Reis. Zimmerman, obviously trying to make an impression, had two long-range efforts that danced wickedly but ultimately were pushed wide by Reis.

New York’s best chance to get their first road goal—and spoil Reis’s bid for his 50th career shutout—came in the 80th minute. John Wolyneic was left alone and reacted first to a corner kick from the right side. His header was partially blocked by the on-rushing Reis, then cleared off the line for good by rookie Kevin Alston. The Red Bulls were doomed to go goalless once again.

With the three points, the Revolution climb into a four-way tie for third place in the Eastern Conference. New York remains chained in the East cellar, with just two wins and nine points on the season. The chorus calling for Osorio’s head will only get louder with this meek performance, while New England go to Kansas City next week looking to extend their two-game winning streak before taking a break for Superliga.

Twellman reached the 100-goal mark faster than anyone in MLS history, in just 174th games. His total of 101 puts him four behind FC Dallas striker Jeff Cunningham, who is fourth on the all-time list. The career leader is DC United’s Jaime Moreno, with 126 goals in 305 games.

Greg Lalas, Goal.com

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