Revolution at Toronto FC, 6.23.12: Benny’s Best Game Yet

Benny Feilhaber tried his ass off in this one. His game wasn’t flawless—he forced some passes in the first half (like his attempted through ball in the 41^st minute) and failed to get headers on frame in the 50^th and 90^th minutes—but the good far outweighed the bad. Despite playing 90 minutes without a goal or an assist, he was man of the match, seeing a lot of the ball, sending good crosses into the box off dead balls and in the run of play, setting up the Revs’ first goal with a strong shot on frame that the keeper couldn’t collect, and slamming the ball off the post in the 88^th minute during a hectic and highly exciting climax that saw the Revs press and press and finally get the equalizer in the fourth minute of extra time, sending the Revolution home with a single point that, given the New England players’ late-game efforts, felt more like three.

The game ended 2-2, the same score of the Revolution’s previous game in Toronto. That was Steve Nicol’s last game for the Revolution, a depressing end-of-season match played under dark skies between MLS’s two worst teams. On that day, it was the Revolution who collapsed, conceding the lead in the 83^rd minute and fortunate not to concede another goal before the final whistle. But this time around, the Revolution acquitted themselves admirably after going down two goals. They thoroughly dominated possession in the second half and created numerous chances, so many that, while they didn’t equalize until the final minute, they really should have won the match.

Flo Lechner came on for an injured Kevin Alston in the 40^th minute and looked strong on the attack. He sent in a number of dangerous crosses from the right corner during overlapping runs, including the pass that led to the Revs’ second goal. That ball was headed into the net with extreme prejudice by Lechner’s fellow fullback Chris Tierney. The goal was enormously satisfying, coming as it did after a flurry of late near-misses. Feilhaber was closely trailing Tierney on the play and it was unclear at first which of the two of them had scored.

The Revolution announcers can be forgiven for initially attributing the goal to Feilhaber, since his exuberant celebration certainly suggested that was the case, as did his teammates’ congratulations. When replays showed that it was in fact Tierney who had headed the ball in, my respect and fondness for Feilhaber actually increased. He clearly desperately wanted his team to score, tried his best to score himself, but ultimately didn’t care who finished. I’ve criticized Feilhaber on one or two occasions for getting too visibly frustrated with his teammates when his team was down, but there was none of that against Toronto, just a desire to win and a strong effort. One might say it was a Shalrie Joseph-like performance. And the Revolution needed it since their captain was sidelined for the Toronto game due to an adductor strain suffered against Columbus. With luck, Joseph will be back for New England’s next match, against Seattle at Gillette. If the Revolution play like they did in the second half against Toronto, they have a good chance to surprise the Sounders.