Simon Becher’s equalizer in the 73rd minute gave visiting St. Louis City SC a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
Henry Kessler put St. Louis (5-10-13, 28 points) ahead in the 23rd minute, but Luca Langoni and Carles Gil scored first-half goals that put New England ahead until Becher’s tally.
The Revolution (8-15-3, 27 points) had only 10 men on the field for Becher’s goal. Langoni was late leaving the field on a substitution, so Nacho Gil had to wait a minute before joining the action.
The draw provided faint help to two teams below the playoff line. St. Louis City are the only MLS team without a road win (0-6-8) this season, while the Revolution are 1-4-2 in their last seven regular-season matches.
St. Louis outshot New England by a 21-11 margin, with an 11-4 edge in shots on target. Revolution goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic was often spectacular in making nine saves to keep St. Louis City at bay.
An August trade between the two clubs saw Tim Parker head to the Revs in exchange for Kessler. Parker made his Revolution debut Saturday, and Kessler was a key figure in the match’s first two goals. In the 23rd minute, Kessler’s bad-angle header found the back of the net for his first goal of the season.
Kessler’s dream return against his former club took an unwelcome turn just five minutes later. Kessler slipped while marking Langoni down the right side, allowing the forward to race into the St. Louis box and score the equalizer.
New England kept the attack coming in the 40th minute. Gil’s shot from just outside the box banked off the post for the midfielder’s sixth goal of the season.
Joao Klauss came off the bench for St. Louis City in the 57th minute, sparking a dominant stretch of play for his team for most of the second half.
The breakthrough goal finally came from Becher in the 73rd minute. Since joining St. Louis City in July, Becher has four goals in seven matches (two in Leagues Cup play, two in regular-season play).
–Field Level Media
