Watson’s late header leads to Revs victory
FOXBORO — JeVaughn W atson isn ’t a goalscorer by tr ade. His eight goals in six seasons reflects his v alue as a consistent performer for his t eam mor e than his prowess on offense.
There is, however, one particularly important caveat to that hist ory, according to the in-form Revolution utility player.
“That’s the thing: Whenever I score one, it just keeps pouring,” Watson s aid aft er his 85thminute header w as the difference in a 1 -0 win against the Fire last night.
Watson locat ed the perfect spot to nod home Chris Tierney’s c orner kick and secur e all three points. The winner marked Watson’s second goal in f our da ys — he pounced in the Open Cup victory ag ainst Philadelphia on W ednesday and slotted away the winning penalty for good measure — and supplied the ideal ending to this busy week.
This mat ch al ways loomed as a trick y one given Chicago’s resolute defense and its willing - ness to play on the counter. T he hosts manag ed well enough in the ear ly stages, but they created few chanc es in a disjointed f irst half marr ed by collisions and delays.
The dearth of rhythm, particularly with the R evs laboring in pos session, benefited the F ire and sparked a bright sequence from the visit ors aft er halftime. A ccam s aw his shot deflected wide thr ee minutes aft er halftime , while Bobby Shuttleworth produced a fines ave to turn aside Jose Goncalves’ unintended ef fort toward his o wn g oal just bef ore the hour and w atched John Goossens fail to turn home the remnants.
“Tonight wasn’t our best game by any means,” Revolution c oach J ay Heaps s aid. “T hings weren’t totally clicking in the f inal thir d. I felt lik e we had the g ame. I think everything we were dealing with was the counterattack. But when we were going f or it, ther e was a real commitment.”
Heaps insert ed Dieg o Fagundez to inject mor e energy in the f inal half - hour. His intent proved a necessary and w elcome addition as the Revs increasingly c ommitted numbers f orward. Fagundez f orced a block from Chicago goalkeeper Sean J ohnson with a deflect ed ef fort then watched the keeper push aside a p air of ef forts in the final 10 minutes.
The per sistence inevitably paid off for the Revs five minutes from the end. Tierney delivered a typically menacing c orner from the right. J ohnson lunged aft er it withou t making c ontact top ave the way for Watson to turn into the vacated net.
“It was a good goal and a nic e w eek,” Watson said. “This time, I didn’t score with my ( weak) left foot. It was a headed goal. The coaching staff is happy. The players are happy. And I think we deserve it with the way we fought in this game.”
Watson’s late intervention mar ked his second decisive goal in short or der and underscored his importance to the side. This victory resulted fr om dogg ed application r ather than sweeping brillianc e, but it consolidated the Revs’ spot in the East ern Conference pecking order.