FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Khano Smith slotted home a penalty in the eighth minute of stoppage time to virtually ensure the New England Revolution's place in the SuperLiga semifinals with a 1-0 victory against Pachuca CF on Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium.
Julio Manzur handled a Sainey Nyassi cross in the 96th minute and referee Walter Quesada pointed to the spot despite the vigorous protests by the home side. Smith tucked his attempt home in the lower right corner to give the Revolution victory.
It was a dramatic ending to a pulsating game with end-to-end play for most of the contest and chances for both teams, though Pachuca will feel aggrieved to lose a point at the death considering their contribution to the game.
It wasn't all positive for the Revolution after midfielder Pat Phelan left the field on a stretcher after colliding with Nyassi as the duo went up to head away a corner kick. Phelan's injury kept him down on the field for more than five minutes and created the need for significant stoppage time.
Selection problems forced Revolution head coach Steve Nicol to name every available player onto his bench. With the likes of Steve Ralston (quad), Jeff Larentowicz (quad), Taylor Twellman (hip flexor), Mauricio Castro (groin) and Chris Albright (unspecified lower extremity) unavailable, Nicol had to chop and change to suit the 4-4-2 formation he prefers in SuperLiga. In came Khano Smith, Pat Phelan and Chris Tierney, with Tierney deployed in an unfamiliar left back position.
Pachuca started the talismanic Christian Gimenez and Jose Torres, a U.S. citizen, in midfield. Christian Correa and Damian Alvarez comprised the strike force; Bruno Marioni missed out on the lineup and a place on the bench through injury.
The match started with a sickening clash of heads inside the first minute. Leobardo Lopez misjudged the bounce off the turf as he went to volley a ball out of his defensive half. In his haste to clear, Lopez ducked his head right onto Kenny Mansally's cranium. The pair remained down for a couple of minutes before rejoining play.
The play went from end to end during spells in the first half as both teams tried to keep the ball on the floor and pass it around midfield.
Pachuca was having marginally better success in that endeavor, forcing a free kick after Amaechi Igwe cheaply gave over possession. Jay Heaps committed the foul to set up that opportunity before taking the resulting shot off his face before the danger was cleared.
New England tried to utilize its tidy passing game moving forward and displayed a couple of intricate passing moves in trying to break down the Pachuca defense. Most of the success came from surging runs through the middle and the wide channels, with Khano Smith pinning Paul Aguilar back and Joseph drawing a free kick and a cynical yellow card from Gimenez as Joseph broke through on goal.
But chances were hard to come by for either side in the opening stages. Pachuca gradually looked more threatening as the first stanza progressed. Carlos Rodriguez's low, driven cross eluded Correa's run into the box.
Smith nearly responded minutes later with a diagonal run from the left side to set up a right-footed drive that slid just past the far post.
Minutes before the break, Alvarez should have opened the scoring. The Argentinean striker danced around Igwe and caught a break when Michael Parkhurst's slide deflected the ball off Alvarez's shins and towards goal. The finish wasn't nearly as lucky as the low drive missed the far post by inches with Reis stranded.
Fausto Pinto nearly let the Revs in two minutes after the break with a needless turnover inside his own penalty area. Kenny Mansally's quick pass allowed Kheli Dube to hook a shot towards goal. Pachuca 'keeper Miguel Calero managed to push the effort wide.
The chance sparked a good stretch of play for the home side with Joseph's range of passing on full display and the wide play used to create havoc in the Pachuca penalty area. Only Lopez's intervention stopped Mansally from streaking through on goal.
Suddenly it was Pachuca's turn to assert itself. As if flicking a switch, the Tuzos clicked into another gear. It took the very best from Reis to deny a low, dipping shot by Alvarez to the near post and only a deflection off the inside of the post kept the swerving effort out.
It was then Calero's turn to bail out his side. Reis went direct with his clearance and Smith brought it down with a neat touch. A quick pass sent Dube streaking down the right side. Dube's high drive to the near post forced a smart save from Calero to keep the scores level.
Two minutes later, all the action in the ground stopped as Nyassi's head collided with the bottom of Phelan's chin as the pair went up to head out a corner kick. Phelan appeared as if he was knocked out before coming down to the ground. He remained there for several minutes before being stretchered off the field.
Phelan's injury meant significant stoppage time would be added and Nyassi's cross created the opportunity for Smith to seal the victory for the MLS leaders.
The Revolution finished the night with six points from two games, while Pachuca have three. The Revolution would secure their place in the final four if the second Group B game of the night, between Chivas USA and Santos Laguna, ended in a draw.
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