Revolution wins series opener over Red Bulls

If the Revolution is going to lose the stigma of the team that can't seal the deal, maybe the midseason addition of Jermaine Jones will prove to be the key.

Jones, who played for the United States at this summer's World Cup, finished a counterattack in the 85th minute with a tap-in and gave New England a 2-1 victory over the Red Bulls Sunday to move within a draw of the MLS Cup final.

Called the "Buffalo Bills of MLS" for four losses in the championship game, the Revolution is the closest it's been to the final since 2007. It has a significant advantage in the second leg of the aggregate-goals series Saturday at Gillette Stadium. It will need only a tie to advance and face Los Angeles or Seattle.

Jones, 33, joined the team in August after a club career in Germany, England and Turkey. He has been widely credited as the one who has pushed the Revolution to the brink of returning to the final.

"I don't think anyone could anticipate what Jermaine would add," coach Jay Heaps said. "I think that we had a great core, but no one thought a guy like that would come in and really just solidify everything we were doing."

Since Jones signed Aug. 24, the Revolution is 11-1-1.

Jones knocked in a cross inside the 6 from Teal Bunbury, who sent the ball from the right after Lee Nguyen started the break in midfield. "Lee read it well and he played it out to Teal and I had the time to go a little bit back," Jones said. "He crossed it and I scored.

"It's now on Red Bull. They have to score and they have to win that game. It's good for us. We can sit a little bit back."

The Red Bulls' Bradley Wright-Phillips equalized midway through the first half. He will miss the second leg after drawing his second yellow card of the playoffs for challenging New England goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth as he tried to put the ball back into play.

Wright-Phillips' yellow card was one of 10 issued by Alan Chapman.

"The referee lost control of the game for both teams," Red Bulls coach Mike Petke said. "I almost wanted to get a yellow because I felt left out." -- AP