FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - After losing out on the rights to sign Jermaine Jones two weeks ago, the Chicago Fire felt the sting once more when the Revolution’s new DP set up a second half goal that led New England to a 2-1 win over Chicago at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
After collecting a pass in the Revs end, with his back to the attack, Jones quickly turned and sprinted up field, clearing Alex and Lovel Palmer and left-footing a pass through two more defenders to Charlie Davies. The substitute striker broke an offside trap and sprinted into the box, slotting a low shot just under the dive of Sean Johnson to give the Revs their 2-1 advantage.
The 60th minute goal was Davies’ third on the season and marked Jones’ second assist in just as many games with the Revolution, who have now won four straight.
After a slow start, the Fire found their first half footing around the 14th minute, when Quincy Amarikwa crossed to Sanna Nyassi at the spot only for Nyassi to head wide left.
Amarikwa and Nyassi had more luck in the 28th minute, combining to give the Fire lead after Amarikwa tracked down a through ball on the left, crossing into the area where Nyassi headed home inside the far post.
Nyassi would get yet another chance in the 30th minute, picking the pocket of Jones and sprinting in unabated before firing a shot off the near post.
That miss would prove costly 10 minutes later, when Diego Fagundez scored his first goal since May to pull the Revs level. Captain Jose Goncalves did well to save a Kelyn Rowe corner from going out of bounds, feeding Lee Nguyen in the right side of the area. Nguyen, the Revs’ leading scorer, then turned provider, chipping a lofted ball to a wide open Fagundez at the back post for a headed finish.
Davies gave the Revs the lead 15 minutes into the second half, finishing Jones’ fine through ball to give New England the win. The victory firms up the Revs’ (12-12-3, 39 points) position in third-place in the East, keeping them three points ahead of fourth- and fifth-place Columbus and Philadelphia and five points in front of sixth-place New York. New England is now just three points behind second-place Kansas City, and holds a game in hand on Sporting.
The loss keeps Chicago (5-7-14, 29 points) mired in ninth in the East, seven points back of Philadelphia for the fifth and final playoff spot with just eight games left on their schedule.
Both teams will return to action on Saturday, with New England hosting MLS cellar dwellers Montreal Impact and the Fire returning to Toyota Park for a home tilt against Toronto FC.
