Steve Ralston wanted to make sure the New England Revolution coaching staff earned a trip to Toronto for the MLS All-Star Game in late July.
Ralston's two goals gave the Eastern Conference leaders a 2-1 victory against Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium and ensured Steve Nicol would lead the MLS All-Stars later this month.
Ralston might just join them in Toronto after netting his fifth and sixth goals of the season as the Revolution shook off some indifferent home form and dispatched a Toronto FC side that fell to 1-5-0 on the road on the season.
Nicol named Taylor Twellman (ankle) on the bench as the striker sought his first action since May 11. Kenny Mansally (World Cup qualifying with The Gambia) returned on Friday afternoon to take his spot on the bench.
Amado Guevara returned to the side after playing with Guatemala in World Cup qualifying last weekend. Olivier Tebily (ankle) and Todd Dunivant (ankle) didn't make the trip due to injury, while Brian Edwards continued in goal in place of Greg Sutton for Toronto FC.
Harried by slow starts and sporadic possession in games at Gillette Stadium, the Revolution sought to impact the match early. A higher tempo and more assertiveness in the midfield saw the Revs dominate the match's early stages.
The quick passing paid off after 11 minutes. A quick one-two between Kheli Dube and Mauricio Castro created space for the Zimbabwean striker. Dube's near-post cross fell between Adam Cristman and Tyrone Marshall at the near post. The contact forced the ball off the far post, where Ralston reacted first and slotted home for his fifth goal of the season.
But after the goal, the Revs settled back into midfield and lost their tempo. The retreat invited Toronto forward, though the visitors struggled to find the feet of lone striker Danny Dichio or playmaker Amado Guevara.
The result was a period of play in which Toronto held the ball but looked less than dangerous with it. As TFC started to play their line higher, the Revolution sought to counter when they gathered possession of the ball.
The counterattack proved effective for the home side. Shalrie Joseph's diagonal pass sprung Sainey Nyassi and caused a corner kick. Adam Cristman lost control of one diagonal ball played through to him, but played another tantalizingly across the face of goal for Dube to collect and drop for a Ralston effort that never made it through on goal.
It was more of the same as the second stanza started. TFC 'keeper Edwards whiffed on Nyassi's low cross, but Cristman couldn't connect at the far post. Dube's glancing header from a Cristman cross just eluded the far post.
The second goal appeared inevitable and it came a quarter of an hour after the break. Joseph's diagonal distribution created space for Mauricio Castro. Marco Velez deflected Castro's left-wing cross into Dube's path. Dube's sublime volley hit the bar and deflected off the bar to Ralston. The veteran midfielder sent Velez diving to the ground and then touched his effort off the far post for his second goal of the season.
The Revolution looked comfortable in the lead until Joseph rose above Maurice Edu and headed a Guevara free kick into the corner of his own net to draw the visitors back within touching distance.
Even with Taylor Twellman's return after missing seven games with an ankle injury, the Revs couldn't make the last 10 minutes comfortable.
Matt Reis had to save smartly from Jim Brennan at the near post and then scramble back to collect a Jarrod Smith header saved off the goal line by Michael Parkhurst to ensure the Revs grabbed a deserved three points and cemented their spot atop the Eastern Conference.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
