COLUMBUS – Robbie Rogers scored for the first time since last August when he netted dramatic stoppage time winner as the Crew defeated New England 3-2 on Saturday.
The goal came after New England defender Darrius Barnes had cleared a header by Jason Garey off the goal line. Rogers charged on the loose ball and roofed a shot for the winner.
Moments earlier, the Crew’s Eddie Gaven had his shot from five yards hit the crossbar.
Zak Boggs made the most of his first MLS start, scoring twice, but the Revolution (2-5-1) dropped to 0-4-1 in the past five games. Columbus is 3-0-2 and has won all three games in Crew Stadium.
Boggs, a rookie midfielder, scored in the 29th minute as Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer fumbled his shot from 25 yards.
Gaven countered only two minutes later to tie the score at 1-1. He pounced on a header clearance by Revolution defender Cory Gibbs and fired the ball past goalkeeper Preston Burpo.
Gibbs committed a second error that led to a Columbus score when he misfired on an own goal in the 35th minute for a 2-1 Crew lead. His sliding interception of a cross by Rogers found the back of Burpo's net.
However, Boggs responded in the 40th by slotting the ball in from 15 yards to cap off an impressive passing combination and put the visitors even at halftime 2-2.
The first 15 minutes of the second half belonged to Burpo. He came of the line to slide and make two saves on Gaven in the 62nd minute then denied Steven Lenhart’s breakaway by meeting him near the top of the penalty area and snuffing out the attempt.
New England had the next two chances to break the deadlock with Chris Tierney forcing Hesmer to save his free kick in the 77th minute. Boggs then went for the hat trick in the 79th but his strike from 25 yards sailed right.
Each team was missing a player due to red card suspension. The Revs played without midfielder Marko Perovic while the Crew was missing defender Danny O’Rourke.
Without the injured Kevin Alston and forward Edgar Jankauskas, Revs Head Coach Steve Nicol opted to play a single forward set-up as the team's leading scorer, Zack Schilawski, was on the bench. Nicol gave Boggs his first start on the left wing while Chris Tierny moved to the center of midfield.
The Revolution showed significant improvement following the 4-0 pasting they received at the hands of Chivas USA during midweek.
Crew Head Coach Robert Warzycha made two changes from the 1-1 tie at Seattle Sounders FC last weekend: Gino Padula started at left back for O’Rourke and centerback Chad Marshall came back from a hamstring strain to replace Andy Iro.
Both teams next play May 15 with Columbus hosting Chivas USA and the Revolution at home against San Jose.
Scoring Summary:
NE -- Zak Boggs 1 (unassisted) 29’
CLB -- Eddie Gaven 1 (unassisted) 31’
CLB -- own goal (Cory Gibbs) 35’
NE -- Zak Boggs 2 (Kheli Dube 4, Pat Phelan 1) 40’
CLB -- Robbie Rogers 1 (unassisted) 91+’
New England Revolution -- Preston Burpo, Seth Sinovic, Darrius Barnes (Zack Schilawski 89), Cory Gibbs, Khano
Smith, Sainey Nyassi, Pat Phelan, Joseph Niouky, Chris Tierney, Zak Boggs, Kheli Dube.
Columbus Crew -- William Hesmer, Frankie Hejduk, Chad Marshall, Eric Brunner, Gino Padula (Jason Garey 71), Eddie Gaven, Brian Carroll, Adam Moffat (Emmanuel Ekpo 78), Robbie Rogers, Steven Lenhart (Sergio Herrera 89), Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
Misconduct Summary:
CLB -- Adam Moffat (caution; Reckless Foul) 77’
CLB -- Robbie Rogers (caution; Shirt Removal) 91+’
Referee: Ramon Hernandez
Referee's Assistants: Jason Cullum; Steven Taylor
4th Official: Jeff Gontarek
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Cloudy, 50 degrees
Attendance: 10,197
