It wasn't revenge for two MLS Cup defeats. But it was an impressive way to start the season for the New England Revolution.
Steve Ralston, Adam Cristman and Sainey Nyassi scored to give the Revs a 3-0 victory against the Houston Dynamo in the team's first-ever season opener at Gillette Stadium.
New England bossed most of the contest, using the speed of Nyassi and Kenny Mansally to open up the normally stingy Dynamo defense. Houston adjusted tactically to adapt and looked better after the halftime interval, but could not find the opening goal they wanted to get back into the contest.
Revolution head coach Steve Nicol had to make a late change to his starting lineup after Taylor Twellman picked up a knee injury in warm-ups. Adam Cristman took his place. New signing Mauricio Castro lined up on the left side of midfield and the Gambian duo of Nyassi and Mansally each earned a berth in the starting 11.
Houston left Brad Davis back in Texas to recover from a groin injury. With Craig Waibel nursing a hamstring strain, Brian Mullan played right back and Stuart Holden shifted out wide.
With Nyassi and Mansally in the lineup, the Revolution increased its team speed and Nyassi's third-minute run put the Dynamo on notice. Nyassi escaped from Wade Barrett and crossed to the far post. Castro hit the cross first-time and saw Onstad kick his leg out to save.
A Mullan giveaway let Mansally run at the Dynamo defense on 14 minutes. Mansally ran towards the right side of the area before driving a cross to the far post that just missed Cristman's slide.
The opener came just a minute later. Nyassi again made headway down the left side and slotted a through ball between Barrett and Eddie Robinson. Mansally latched onto it and drove a low shot to the far post. Onstad got down well to push the effort away but the rebound popped right to Ralston, who knocked it home from six yards to open the scoring in the 16th minute.
Dwyane De Rosario attempted to engineer an instant reply in the 19th minute but his header from a Holden cross looped over the bar.
The Dynamo soon switched to a 3-5-2 to cope with the Revolution's speed on the wings, but the Revolution soon doubled their advantage, in the 32nd minute. Castro's incisive run drew a foul from De Rosario. Ralston played the free kick quickly square to Jeff Larentowicz. The former Brown midfielder's drive knuckled and Onstad parried the ball awkwardly as he fell to the ground. The rebound popped up invitingly for Cristman to nod home past the prone Onstad.
Houston went close through Corey Ashe and De Rosario before halftime but the Dynamo went into the interval lucky to keep the deficit at two.
The Dynamo attempted to assert itself as the second half opened. Richard Mulrooney earned a yellow card for a thumping challenge along the side line after Castro had skinned Mullan.
Houston carved out its best sequence of the game 15 minutes into the second half. After a sustained buildup, the ball flashed wide out to Mullan. Holden's diving header connected with the curving cross. Only a fully-stretched Matt Reis kept the ball out of the net by pushing it out over the end line.
The resulting corner kick saw Robinson head toward goal only for Nyassi to track back and clear the goal-bound header out of danger.
Danger struck the Revolution soon afterwards after Steve Ralston went up for a header and fell awkwardly. Ralston came up grabbing his left shoulder and forced Nicol to insert Gary Flood in his place.
Cristman threatened again with a quarter of an hour left to play. After sneaking past Robinson, Cristman bore down on Onstad one versus one. Onstad came off his line and save Cristman's effort with his left knee.
Nyassi grabbed the goal his performance deserved in the third minute of stoppage time as he intercepted the ball on the halfway line and surged down the right hand side. After a stepover as he raced into the box, he smashed an effort into the roof of the net to cap a comprehensive victory.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
