Real Deal Teal Sparks Open Cup Revolution

The New England Revolution’s Teal Bunbury is a man who’s sharp about the game –most other things too. The 29-year-old Canada-born striker sees all the angles and considers them with care. That being said, he had no angle – none to speak of – when he chipped an extravagant winner seven minutes from time to lift his side over the New York Red Bulls and into the Round of 16 of the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

“I noticed him [NYRB goalkeeper Ryan Meara] coming off his line earlier in the game – a little farther than normal – so I made a note of it,” Bunbury told ussoccer.com about his outrageous effort down a man and deep into extra-time. “At that point in the game, I was tired and it just kind of clicked in. It felt like a good moment to try something.”

A Chance to Create Something

It’s a humble analysis of a heroic goal. It wasn’t just that the angle was close to impossible – or the distance (he was way out) or the fact that there were two defenders in Bunbury’s face. The circumstances were heavy. The Revs were down a man for a long stretch of a fiery game. They were on the road in New Jersey against a big local rival and they were only seven minutes from forcing a penalty shootout. Most pros, after winning the ball near midfield like he did, would have taken it to the corner flag. “I thought about it,” Bunbury said with a small laugh. “But I thought, maybe here’s a chance to create something against the run of play and avoid the coin-flip of a penalty shootout. It turned out to be a good decision and a pretty good shot. I was fortunate it went in.”

Nobody to pass to because you're down a man in stoppage time 🤔 why not just chip it in! 😆 @NERevolution 3-2 @NewYorkRedBulls #USOC2019
📺 the rest of OT on ESPN+ https://t.co/O77n66kxaw pic.twitter.com/8xZKNeuaZE

— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) June 12, 2019

It was a bold move. A considered one. The execution was perfection. Anyone can take a chance late in a Cup game, but it takes something special to pull off what Bunbury did. Teammates rushed to celebrate their captain’s magic, and newly arrived Revolution coach Bruce Arena looked at the touchline with a small smile on his face.

“He’s [Bunbury] is a very good player, but he’s a great individual,” said Arena, who arrived in Foxboro last month to take over a club – a founding member of MLS – in terminal decline for too many seasons running. “When you get to a team in the situation that we’re in, you need people with character and Teal is that kind of person.”

And for the Revs – mired and self-doubt and looking to climb out – the Open Cup is an opportunity. The 106-year-old tournament is one for the muck and the grind. For an MLS team, it’s five games to a trophy. But they’re a hard five games. They don’t come easy. “In the Cup, there’s no tomorrow so you need to go for it for real,” said Bunbury, team leader for the Revolution whose only major trophy is a 2007 U.S. Open Cup. “You have to try to win or grind it out for penalties. It’s always tough and the games get chippy. You’ll probably get a weather delay somewhere – that always happens. The key is being locked in because in the Cup anything can happen.”

From Coach to Captain

It’s a message that comes straight from Arena to the field – filtered by a captain who’s a lead-by-example type and a positive influence on the players around him. “Bruce reminds you before the game that you’re likely going to have to go more than 90 minutes – it may not seem like much but it’s important to consider at the start of a game,” said Bunbury. “The subs know they need to be dialed in because we’ll use all of them in these Cup games. It’s a knockout tournament, so he lets us know we need to lay it on the line because we want to get to the Final. That’s our goal and I think we can do it.”