In the humble opinion of New England Revolution head coach/sporting director Bruce Arena, the Columbus Crew’s second goal in Saturday’s Lower.com Field opener shouldn't have stood.
The boxscore reads as a 69th-minute own goal from Andrew Farrell, an equalizer where the Revolution center back accidentally headed around goalkeeper Matt Turner when tracking a long ball from Columbus midfielder Liam Fraser.
As the deflected header created a mad-dash toward New England’s goal, Columbus striker Gyasi Zardes closed in while Farrell and Turner raced to clear the ball. Zardes applied pressure from behind, Farell and Turner fell into the goal and the Revolution haplessly watched their lead evaporate.
But Arena took exception to the on-field call from referee Alan Kelly and, subsequently, Sorin Stoica in his Video Review role.
“Gyasi pushed our two players into the goal,” Arena said afterward. “VAR is a good tool, but if you are not able to utilize it the right way it's a useless technology. I talked to a key Columbus player after the game and they thought it was clearly a push on our two players. Matt probably could have handled that ball.”
“I haven't seen the replay, I could be 100 percent incorrect,” Arena added. “But the way I saw it at the time, I thought Farrell was pushed into Turner, which enabled that ball to cross the line. And again, I hope I'm wrong and I hope the VAR had it right.”
Before the possible foul, New England inched toward spoiling Columbus’ party on a day where they debuted their second soccer-specific stadium in club history. One goal and one assist from Tajon Buchanan in the first half paved the way, dimming the mood.
Naturally, Zardes took a different approach when assessing the bang-bang play. He viewed it as a rapid-fire sequence that lacked anything malicious.
"Although they got a jump on it, I was still right behind them [and] they knew I was coming," Zardes, who started the comeback with a 39th-minute goal, said. "And sure enough it went in and the ref didn't call it back. They were all like, 'Oh, you pushed us, you pushed us.' But I’m like, 'You guys are running too fast at your own goal for me to push you guys into the goal.' But I’m so glad we were able to secure that goal."
With the draw, New England bounced back from a 2-1 loss at FC Dallas last weekend. The Eastern Conference leaders have gone 2W-2L-3D on the road, compared to a perfect five wins from five at Gillette Stadium.
The good news is they return home this coming Wednesday against Toronto FC (7 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+), hosting a struggling side that just lost 7-1 against D.C. United. There are pieces to build upon, even if controversy surrounded the decisive moment at Lower.com Field.
“The last game wasn't anything to write home about, the one in Dallas," Arena said. "But I think today, to get a point and possibly three points against a team that, in all honesty, took the game to us, would have been a real positive. And it is a positive still, getting a point on the road. We had some good wins against New York City and I guess Cincinnati on the road. So, those are important points. You get points on the road in this league, and you can win at home, that's a formula for success.”
