FOXBOROUGH — Kei Kamara produced plenty of offense as a Revolution opponent after joining MLS in 2006. Now, the Revolution have Kamara on their side, since acquiring him from the Columbus Crew in late May, and he has made a difference as they progress through a season marked by ineffective finishing and inconsistent play.
Kamara led the way as the Revolution took a 3-1 win over the Crew, scoring his first goal at Gillette Stadium as a member of the team, before a crowd of 18,343 on Saturday night.
The result snapped a three-game losing streak in league play, including a 1-0 home defeat against New York City FC on Wednesday, for the Revolution (5-7-7, 22 points).
“It’s not a game I ever thought was going to happen, you know,’’ Kamara said. “When I was part of that team I saw myself there and the only time I saw myself playing against those guys was when we were scrimmaging in training. There’s three games marked on the calendar [the Crew return Aug. 20 and the Revolution visit Columbus Sept. 25] and a lot of people making me aware, hey, you get to play them this many times. But, for me, it was a fun game.’’
Kamara set up Lee Nguyen’s third-minute goal, then his cross went for a 34th-minute own goal, the Revolution taking a 2-1 halftime lead after the Crew cut the deficit on Ola Kamara’s 42d-minute goal. Kei Kamara then converted in the 71st minute off a Crew defensive mixup.
“I was focused,’’ said Kamara, who had scored three goals against the Revolution at Gillette Stadium, and totaled 11 goals as a Revolution opponent since joining MLS in 2006. “The team hasn’t really gotten what we wanted from games. And I told myself I can’t make it all be about how much I want it, it’s got to be about how much we want it. It looked like everyone wanted it. If we can score an early goal like that, that’s what we planned to do.’’
Before Kamara arrived, following a dispute with Crew forward Federico Higuain over a penalty kick, the Revolution had recorded one victory in 11 games. Since then, the Revolution have compiled a 4-4-0 record in MLS play, plus two wins in the US Open Cup, Kamara totaling four goals in the last four games in all competitions.
“I thought he was awesome,’’ Revolution coach Jay Heaps said. “He worked hard and when he works hard, and Lee works hard, everyone works hard. We asked a lot of him, to play 90 [minutes], 90, 90, and he came in in the Open Cup, and he didn’t bat an eye. He was perfect for us, in terms of what he did defensively for us, and then offensively, he got that goal.’’
Heaps altered the lineup, Je-Vaughn Watson playing as a defensive midfielder, and the moved paid off with Scott Caldwell and Watson countering the Crew’s Tony Tchani and Wil Trapp.
Chris Tierney helped set up both Revolution first-half goals. In the third minute, Tierney crossed for a Kamara knock down, Nguyen one-timing a half volley from just inside the penalty area for a 1-0 lead. In the 34th minute, Tierney won possession, then sent a pass upfield for Kamara, who slipped a pass to Nguyen. Kamara stayed onside while Nguyen held possession at the top of the penalty area on the left. Then, Nguyen returned the ball to Kamara, whose cross intended for Kelyn Rowe went for an own goal as Trapp slid in, giving the Revolution a 2-0 edge.
Ola Kamara cut the Columbus deficit, finishing a left-footer under Brad Knighton in the 43d minute. The Crew caught the Revolution defense off balance, touching a free kick to Tchani, who sent a through ball to Kamara, who evaded Jose Gonçalves to shoot from close range on the left.
In the 71st minute, Kei Kamara scored off a misplay by the Crew (3-7-7, 16 points), who have won once in the last 10 games.
The sequence began as Nguyen found Teal Bunbury on the right, Bunbury going down in a duel with Waylon Francis, the Revolution calling for a penalty kick. Referee Mark Geiger allowed play to continue and Francis attempted to clear, but instead clashed with teammate Chad Barnson, leaving the ball just outside the goal area on the right. Kamara, who had raised his arms in protest of the penalty non-call, stepped in and sent a shot past Mike Clark for his eighth goal of the season and third since joining the Revolution.
“Wednesday night was disappointing,’’ Heaps said. “Wednesday was the real gut punch, because we’re at home and we knew we were going to approach the game the right way, and we didn’t. And, so, we really had to rally to get ourselves ready for tonight. That’s got to be the mindset at home, you’ve got to throw the first punch and be aggressive, and we have to keep doing that.’’
