Revolution and Wizards tie 1-1 in Superliga game

Revolution and Wizards tie 1-1

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England defender Darrius Barnes deflected Hercules Gomez’s shot past goalkeeper Matt Reis in the 85th minute for an own goal to give the Kansas City Wizards a 1-1 tie with the Revolution in a Superliga tournament game Wednesday.

The defending champion Revolution dominated most of the game despite playing a man short for the last 55 minutes after Michael Videira was sent off when his elbow to the head of Aaron Hohlbein earned him a red card.

Both teams could advance to the second round. The Revolution host Atlas of Mexico on Sunday, while the Wizards are at home against Santos Laguna of Mexico.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the two Mexican teams played a 0-0 tie.

New England has four points after a win and tie in Group B of the tournament, which matches four teams from Major League Soccer with four teams from Mexico’s Primera Division. The Wizards have two ties for two points.

The Revolution, playing without their top three scorers and with seven players on the injured list, carried the early play.

Kenny Mansally and Videira missed close-in chances in the first half before New England took a 1-0 lead in the first minute of stoppage time. Mansally chipped a ball over the head of a Kansas City defender to Kheli Dube, who easily beat keeper Kevin Hartman.

New England kept the Wizards bottled up until the final minutes. Gomez’s dangerous cross in the 76th minute was stopped by Reis, and Josh Wolff’s header barely missed in the 83rd minute.

Kansas City pressed after tying the game on the own goal, but the undermanned Revolution hung on for the draw.

“We’ll dust ourselves off, take the point, and go home to face a good Santos Laguna team,” said Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo, who admitted his team was “lucky” to be down only 1-0 at the half. “I thought we regrouped and played extremely hard in the second half.”

Revolution coach Steve Nicol criticized Videira’s red card, calling it “accidental contact” and claiming it was called by the fourth official, not the referee.

“If we’re going to send people off for accidental contact, there’ going to be a lot of people going off,” he said.

Vieira will not be available for Sunday’s game.

A frustrated Nicol also criticized the tournament format, which calls for the teams to play three times in eight days, as “impossible.”<

Atlas has yet to score or give up a goal in the tournament. Santos garnered its first point,

Atlas carried the play for most of the first half that featured few scoring chances. But Santos Laguna defender Christian Sanchez and Atlas striker Hebert Alferez both left after cracking heads in a violent collision early in the game.

Santos’ Jorge Estrada had the two best chances. His shot at the near post in the 61st minute was turned away by keeper Jose Francisco Canales, and Estrada, after a setup from Vicente Vuosos, narrowly missed during second-half stoppage time.

By then, Francisco Torres of Santos Laguna had picked up a red card after a sliding tackle took out Jorge Torres.

“It was a complicated game, a very congested game, and neither team could generate many chances,” Atlas captain Hugo Ayala said. “We know we have to win no matter what Sunday to continue in the tournament.”