It could have been much worse for the Revs as Joe Public wasted several chances before Gregory Richardson scored six minutes after halftime. Substitute Jamal Gay added a second for the Trinidadians. Mauricio Castro scored from the penalty spot to give the Revs a second-leg lifeline after Carlyle Mitchell hauled Shalrie Joseph down in the penalty area.
With the second leg ahead next Tuesday, the Revs are well positioned to advance after netting a precious away goal and dominating the T&T Pro League champions in the final 20 minutes.
Revolution head coach Steve Nicol lost Khano Smith to Bermuda national team duty. Mauricio Castro earned a recall in his place. With Chris Albright unavailable, the Revs opted for a four-man backline with Jeff Larentowicz dropping into central defense alongside Michael Parkhurst. Taylor Twellman led the line with Steve Ralston tucked in behind as the Revs lined up in a 4-4-1-1 formation.
Joe Public went for an attacking 4-4-2 formation designed exploit the team's speed. Gregory Richardson and Roen Nelson were the focal points in attack, while experienced midfielders Dale Saunders and Arnold Dwarika ran the show in midfield. Former Colorado defender Keyeno Thomas started centrally, while former Kansas City striker Gary Glasgow settled for a place on the bench.
The home side started on the front foot, running at the Revolution defense and exploiting its speed advantage. Nelson and Richardson continually turned the corner and got to the byeline against the slow to react Revs defenders.
But the recurring theme for the Trinidadian club was the lack of a finishing touch. Richardson skipped around Chris Tierney and pulled back for Nelson only for the Jamaican to wastefully push his effort wide. Nelson then sent another effort well wide as Joe Public attempted to push the tempo in the early stages.
Gradually, the Revolution entered into the game. Assuming some semblance of possession, New England tried to settled the pace. Those hopes were dealt a blow when Steve Ralston limped off with a back injury after just 25 minutes. Wells Thompson announced his arrival in Ralston's place by picking up a yellow card one minute later.
Chances started to arrive for the visitors in search of a vital away goal. Kerry Baptiste had to hack away a Sainey Nyassi cross before Castro could apply the final touch.
Twellman then drew a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. Joe Public goalkeeper Alejandro Figueroa awkwardly parried over Larentowicz's rising drive.
Perhaps the best chance of the opening stanza fell to the wasteful Nelson four minutes before the break after a sublime diagonal ball from Baptiste sent him through, but Nelson's effort once again went wide.
The goal that should have came in the first half finally arrived six minutes into the second stanza. The buildup was worthy of Richardson's tap-in, starting in midfield with a long, diagonal pass from Dale Saunders. Nelson's knockdown played Baptiste through into the corner, and the cross found Richardson in acres of space to finish a chance even the Trinidadians couldn't conspire to miss.
It should have been two after 65 minutes when Nelson managed to turn another sumptuous Baptiste cross wide from six yards.
That would be Nelson's last chance for profligacy in front of goal and given substitute Gay's immediate impact, it's a wonder Nelson lasted as long as he did. Baptiste again roasted Tierney down the right flank. A carbon copy cross received a carbon copy finish from Gay.
Joe Public was in dreamland with a two-goal lead, but those dreams were shattered four minutes after the goal when Twellman played through Joseph. Joseph surged into the penalty area. Mitchell hacked Joseph down with a crude challenge. Castro stepped up to take the resulting penalty and sent Figueroa the wrong way to give Revs a much-needed goal.
Incredibly, the Revs could have even grabbed an equalizer to cap their strength over the last quarter of the match. Substitute Joe Germanese got in behind the Joe Public defense and dragged back in front of goal, but the cross missed Twellman's run heading to goal.
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