As Sporting KC slides, New England nears the top (VIDEO)

In football, timing is everything. Whether it is the cadence that a striker chooses to take on a penalty or a direction that a goalkeeper leans when taking a shot, the ability to be precise and timely with one’s work on the pitch is critical to a team. It is no different for the team. Those that hit their form early are left susceptible to peaking early, while those who come on late can ride good form to greater fortunes. This exact scenario played out on Friday night as Sporting Kansas City once again suffered a loss at the hands of the New England Revolution.

Although Sporting KC may been at the wrong end of the match, they did play quite well. Considering that Sporting had lost their last two previous matches to their rivals in the Eastern Conference, Peter Vermes side came out with conviction to write the previous wrongs. In just the 4th minute, Sporting forward Dom Dwyer delivered a cracking strike off of a free kick that curved just right over the cross-bar.

Sporting’s determined play was led by midfielder Benny Feilhaber, who pushed his teammates head on against the New England defense. But his intensity was matched by the New England defense and in particular midfielder Jermaine Jones. Jones, who was brought in to the Revolution to transition the club from attack to defense, helped spur Sporting’s early advances and jump-started the New England attack. His shot in the 12th minute nearly nipped the top corner of the Sporting goal, but was just wide.

New England would open up the goal bank in the 22nd minute when defender Kellyn Rowe would finish off a cross by Kevin Alston to give the Revolution lead. The goal was Rowe’s fourth of the season.

With the advantage. the Revolution looked for more. Just seven minutes later defender Jose Goncalves would get in on the fun when he would beat Sporting midfielder Paolo Nagamura for a ball in open space and proceed to run the length of the pitch and score. Goncalves, whose goal was just his first of the season, exposed an opening that was created when Nagamura over-committed on the attack.

Down two goals and facing sure-fire demotion to third place in the Eastern Conference standings, Sporting finally came alive late in the first half. Off of the play of forward Graham Zusi and midfielder Seth Sinovic, Sporting KC hammered New England’s outside backs. In the 44th minute, Zusi found ample open space to deliver a solid cross into the box for fellow forward Toni. Although the two were unable to connect, Sporting had found a hole in the New England attack that they would exploit later.

Sporting’s hard work at breaking down the New England attack would pay off in the 56th minute when Nagamura would finish off a pass by Sporting defender Kevin Alston and would hit a peach of a shot past New England goalkeeper Bobby Shuttlesworth to narrow the difference to just a goal. The goal was Nagamura’s second of the season.

Nagamura would help Sporting even up the match just minutes later when his pass would be finished by Sporting forward Dom Dwyer. Dwyer’s goal, his 24th of the season, put him within four of New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips for the league lead.

With the game tied, both teams looked for the final strike to put them on top. While both sides would test their opponent’s defense, it would be a 85th minute strike from distance by Jones that would put New England on top and give them the three points. Jones was largely untested by the Sporting defense and his low shot was just beyond the outstretched arms of Sporting goalkeeper Eric Kronberg.

Three Stars

1.) Jermaine Jones-When he was originally signed by the New England Revolution in August, he was asked to secure the defense and provide some spark on the attack. He did both of these things on Friday night.

2.) Jose Goncalves-A brilliant run down the pitch made Sporting scramble.

3.) Paolo Nagamura- Made up for mistake on Goncalves goal with expert passing and a deft scoring touch.

Next Match

New England Revolution (14-13-3, 45 points:) Saturday at home versus Columbus Crew (7:30pm, MLS Live)

Sporting Kansas City (13-11-6, 45 points:) Friday at DC United (8pm, NBC Sports Network)

http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2014-09-26-sporting-kansas-city-vs-new-england-revolution/video