FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Bobby Shuttleworth won’t find his name on the score sheet following the New England Revolution’s critical 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night, but the Revs goalkeeper put forth a performance that was worth at least a goal or two in the grand scheme.
Shuttleworth made a total of six saves on the night, including a string of impressive stops when the Revs and Crew were level at 1-1, helping set the stage for Jermaine Jones to notch a second-half game winner for a second consecutive weekend.
“It’s important to know that you have a guy in the back who’s there when he has to be there,” said Jones, who now has two goals and three assists in seven MLS appearances. “He saved our back and we’re all happy that we got the three points.”
Lee Nguyen’s team-leading 14th goal of the season opened the scoring for the Revs in the 20th minute, and it was a save-of-the-week caliber stop from Shuttleworth just seconds earlier – when he reached back with his left hand to deny Aaron Schoenfeld from point-blank range – which sparked the Revs forward.
“He pulled one back, really. Let’s be honest,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “It was just a game that had a lot of energy to it, so to make that save there felt like that gave us a boost. We scored right after it, so I thought he was huge.”
Shuttleworth also made a pair of important saves – both on what were essentially one-on-one chances – shortly before Jones nodded home the winner from Chris Tierney’s free kick in the 67th minute.
With downpours throughout making for a slick playing surface, Saturday night’s performance was the type of grind-it-out result the Revs required as they inch closer to clinching a second straight playoff berth.
“That’s what this time of year is all about,” said Shuttleworth. “We’re 30-some games in now; it’s all about grinding results out like that.”
On Saturday night, Shuttleworth most certainly did his part.
“You get into this time of year when one or two saves are the difference between three points and no points,” said Heaps. “Tonight, Bobby was in the right spot and really commanded the area.”
