ORLANDO, Fla. – New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps didn't want the final analysis of his side's incident-packed, 2-2 draw at Orlando City to focus on the angry exchanges over the visitors' last-gasp penalty equalizer. But still, there was plenty of animosity to go around after the final whistle.
Let's start with the beginning of the confusing series of events that marked the end of the match, which hovered at 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes. Then, two minutes into stoppage time, Orlando City's Kevin Molino managed a goal to put the home team up 2-1.
This is where the beginning of the controversy kicked off. The visitors at a raucous Citrus Bowl felt Molino's tally should have been waved off for a handball. Almost immediately after, it was time for the Lions to get furious with referee Baldomero Toledo, who whistled for a handball against Orlando's Servando Carrasco, who insisted the ball hit his shoulder.
Then with the help of an assistant official, Toledo changed his call from a free kick just outside the box to a penalty kick inside the area. The Revs' Lee Nguyen converted the spot-kick to tie it up 2-2 – and then it was Heaps’ turn to be enraged as a number of water bottles and beer cups hit the field.
That led to a terse exchange between Heaps and opposite number Adrian Heath after the final whistle, with the home coach furious with the New England bench in the final minutes.
But afterwards, Heaps was quick to play down the confrontation and controversy of a breathless finish.
“There was a lot of emotion at the end but I thought it was a really good battle between two good teams,” he insisted. “I was trying to tell the referee there was stuff being thrown on the field and I was worried for my players’ safety. It felt like things had spiraled out of control.
“Adrian was upset with me and I was upset with him for not letting me protect my players. But we also felt there was a clear handball on their second goal, and then the handball at the other end clearly happened in the box, so it had to be a penalty-kick call. From my vantage point, I saw two clear handballs.”
Heath insisted he had not had a clear view of either goalmouth incident that turned a potentially interesting 1-1 draw into an absolute pot-boiler.
“I haven’t seen either one yet, but Carrasco has been told by one of the officials it was a bad goal, so I won’t be surprised if it is a bad call they made,” he said. “It was certainly an eventful one. It was like, 'Here we go again.'
“You think you’ve won the game in the end when you score that late, and the players probably thought that would’ve been it, too. But I can’t fault them for their efforts in the second half. I thought we played with a lot of passion, if not with a lot of quality at times, especially the first half.”
Orlando skipper Kaká offered an alternative take on the late-game controversy, insisting the referee was right to change his call to a penalty, with help from a sideline official.
“I think that isn’t a bad decision sometimes,” he said. “He needs to use the other referees to help him get the right decision, if that’s what he decides. It isn’t bad when you have teammates to help with that kind of call.
“You know, I don’t like to speak about referees at all. It is not right to criticize because the official is like us–he can make mistakes.”
The confrontational nature of the game's ending also detracted from Molino’s goal on his 100th appearance for the Lions, dating back to their USL days. The Trinidadian came on as a 61st-minute substitute for Adrian Winter and helped turn the tide from New England’s earlier dominance.
“With my goal, it all happened so fast, so I don’t really know what happened,” he said. “But we had a lot of energy and passion to change the game. We didn’t get the three points, but we fought hard and we were unlucky with the call at the end.”
Heaps was ultimately happy to escape with a point from the see-saw game that saw both sides take turns at controlling the proceedings. The Revs shook off Kaká’s early penalty to equalize with a Teal Bunbury goal in the 37th minute and then boss the opening half. They then lost their grip in the second 45 minutes as Heath changed his team around.
“I felt like the first half was all us after the early penalty,” Heaps said. “We had a great response and a great first half. We started the second half well and then they made some changes–pushed Kaká wide and brought on [Cyle] Larin – and it put us under a lot of pressure, so I credit Adrian for it.”
