New England Revolution beat New York Red Bulls to reach top spot

The New England Revolution have replaced the New York Red Bulls at the top of the Eastern Conference by beating them 2-1 at the Gillette Stadium.

Jay Heaps's side brought a five-match winning streak with them to the Gillette Stadium, and the hosts picked up where they left off against Toronto.

Only two minutes elapsed before New England - who beat the Canadian outfit 3-1 last weekend - moved ahead when Diego Fagundez slotted home a Juan Agudelo ball inside 90 seconds.

The feelgood element only lasted a matter of minutes, however, as Mike Grella levelled up in style when his 18-yard volley trumped goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.

A fast and furious start almost yielded yet another goal before the 10-minute mark, but Lee Nguyen's 20-yard thump shaved the top of the crossbar.

Nguyen came even closer midway through the half when his free kick beat the wall and goalkeeper Luis Robles, but Dax McCarty was on hand to volley off the line.

After the break, the hosts maintained their pursuit of a second and could have found one, but Jose Goncalves thumped his header over the bar from close range.

They were ahead 20 minutes into the second half thanks to Kelyn Rowe, who reacted quickest to tap home at the back post after a cushioned volley from Scott Caldwell.

New York responded well to falling behind, but they were denied an equaliser when Fagundez responded impressively to clear McCarty's header off the line.

Despite the pressure arriving from the visitors in the closing stages, the Revolution held firm at the back to secure a potentially crucial victory over their rivals, who still have two games in hand.