Tai Baribo’s latest goal sparks the Union’s 2-0 win at New England

The Union kept up their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 win at the New England Revolution on Saturday.

Though it took a while to find the net, Tai Baribo broke through in the 76th minute and Jovan Lukić sealed the win with his first Union goal in the 97th.

At the other end of the field, Olwethu Makhanya and Jakob Glesnes had big games on the back line to help give the Union (3-0-0, 9 points) their first shutout of the year.

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Once again, Union manager Bradley Carnell didn’t have much reason to change a starting lineup that did so well in the first two games of the season. So, he didn’t.

That meant all the news was on the bench. Right back Nathan Harriel was there for the first time this year, but centerback Ian Glavinovich wasn’t after being there in each of the first two games.

In Friday’s league injury report, Glavinovich was officially listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. His absence meant Harriel was effectively the backup centerback.

New England manager Caleb Porter started his big-name attackers, playmaker Carles Gil and striker Leo Campana. But Campana injured himself in just the fifth minute putting a shot wide on Gillette Stadium’s artificial turf, and had to be subbed out two minutes later. The windy, 34-degree weather in Foxborough, Mass., might not have helped either.

Maxi Urruti, a veteran of many MLS teams, subbed in for Camapana in the 10th. He joined the Revolution (0-2-1, 1 point) in January, making them the seventh club he’s played for in the league.

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The first half was quite entertaining, but in a way that felt too loose. The Union out-shot New England 8-6, including 3-0 in shots on target, but the Revolution had some open chances that they really should have finished. Not for nothing did they fail to score in each of their first two games, even with Campana on the field.

Olwethu Makhanya was particularly busy on the Union’s back line. He had six clearances, including three headed ones, plus two tackles, one block, and five defensive recoveries.

The Union’s best chance of the half came in the 24th minute. Makhanya got forward from his centerback spot, gave the ball to Mikael Uhre in the 18-yard box, and Dániel Gazdag ran on Uhre’s setup pass. Alas, Gazdag shot the ball into the stands before crashing into two New England players.

Uhre and Quinn Sullivan had the Union’s shots on target.

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Kai Wagner came inches away from the opener early in the second half with a curling free kick from the right flank that landed on the crossbar. The ball fell into traffic, and no one in light blue could stick it in before New England goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič fell on it.

Carnell made his first substitutions of the night in the 63rd with a double swap: Bruno Damiani for Uhre at striker and Indiana Vassilev for Sullivan at attacking midfield.

Five minutes later, Andre Blake made his first save of the night with a terrific diving stop of an Urruti long-range curler.

Baribo finally broke through after the Union’s fourth corner kick of the night. Wagner’s initial service was headed out of the box, but only as far as Frankie Westfield near the 18-yard line. He had a few choices to make for a pass and made the smartest one by recycling the ball to Wagner on the flank. He hit another terrific cross, and Baribo rose over fellow Israeli Ilay Feingold to head it in.

The tally tied Baribo for MLS’s record for the most goals scored through the first three games of a season. Ante Razov, one of the league’s original players in 1996, held it alone since 1999 — and not much has stayed the same in MLS for the last 26 years.

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A few seconds after play restarted, Baribo drew a yellow card for a delay-of-game infraction. His chance to break the record ended in the 81st, when he was subbed out for Alejandro Bedoya in a tactical shift.

Chris Donovan replaced Gazdag at the start of 10 minutes of stoppage time. As much as that is, there were a lot of stoppages during the half for injuries and fouls, so it wasn’t entirely surprising. Gazdag, Baribo, Jakob Glesnes, and New England’s Luca Langoni and Brayan Ceballos drew yellow cards over the course of the game.

Lukić sealed the win by thumping a bank shot off the left post after a terrific short passing sequence in New England’s 18-yard box. After receiving a cutback pass from Bedoya, Vassilev had the assist, his first goal contribution with the Union.

The Union also did a fine job of killing the clock. They repeatedly drove the ball into the Revolution’s end of the field, and Donovan and Damiani each drew a foul from defenders to take up more time.

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