The New England Revolution notched a third straight road victory with a 3-2 win over the Montreal Impact on Wednesday night at Red Bull Arena. Goals from Kekuta Manneh, Teal Bunbury and Adam Buksa also sealed a third straight win over their Canadian counterparts this season.
In addition to transferring star midfielder Saphir Taider earlier in the day, the Montreal Impact also had a change in goal after starting goalkeeper Clement Diop returned to France for personal reasons. The Revolution pressed early and often to test homegrown goalkeeper James Pantemis, who was making his MLS debut.
After an opening 10 minutes dominated by the Revolution, Manneh opened his New England account in the 12th minute. Matt Polster stole the ball from Rudy Camacho and sent a through pass into space for Buska. The Polish striker found himself through on goal, but instead sent a low cross to his left for Manneh who tapped in the opening goal.
Teal Bunbury gave the Revs a 2-0 lead in the 20th minute off a corner kick. New England played it short and Alexander Buttner found Bunbury with a cross just left of the penalty spot. Bunbury headed the ball passed Pantemis for his sixth goal of the season and a 2-0 lead.
The Impact cut the Revolution's lead seven minutes later. Romell Quioto out-muscled center back Antonio Delamea down the left flank and into the box before sending a cut-back pass to Amar Sejdic who scored his second goal in as many games.
But the Revs regained their two-goal lead in the 52nd minute thanks to Buksa's individual effort. The Designated Player beat Joel Waterman on a 1-v-1 situation inside the box and then beat Pantemis to notch his fourth goal of the season.
The Impact found solace in stoppage time with a goal from Ballou Tabla, but it was little consolation. Montreal also lost center back Rod Fanni who left the game on a stretcher, adding to the club's injury woes. Then there was more bad news for Thierry Henry & Co. late in the game when center back Luis Binks received a yellow card that will force him to miss the next match due to suspension.
Goals
- 12' — NE — Kekuta Manneh | WATCH
- 20' — NE — Teal Bunbury | WATCH
- 27' — MTL — Amar Sejdic | WATCH
- 52' — NE — Adam Buksa | WATCH
- 90' — MTL — Ballou Tabla | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: With the win, the Revolution have created space between them and the play-in spots. New England hopped over New York City FC to occupy the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Impact could have bridged the gap with a result against Bruce Arena's squad but instead slipped to 9th-place with Nashville SC's win in Week 18.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The Revs were assertive early on and getting the first goal via Manneh set the tone for the rest of the game.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: With an assist early in the game and another goal for himself, Adam Buksa was a commanding presence up top for New England.
Next Up
- MTL: Saturday, October 17 vs Inter Miami CF (7 pm ET | MLS Live on ESPN+ in US; TSN1/4, TVA Sports in Canada)
- NE: Monday, October 19 vs Philadelphia Union (7:30 pm ET | MLS Live on ESPN+ in US; MLS Live on DAZN in Canada)
