Luca Langoni, Carles Gil Lift Revolution Past Minnesota United 2-1 as Matt Turner Holds Late

Matt Turner spent the closing stretch at Gillette Stadium playing whack-a-mole with headers. Anthony Markanich in the 84th minute. Morris Duggan in the 88th. Mamadou Dieng in the first minute of stoppage time. Minnesota United kept sending balls into the box, and Turner kept stopping them.

That late stand preserved a 2-1 win for the New England Revolution over Minnesota United on Saturday night. Carles Gil and Kelvin Yeboah traded penalties in the first half, and Luca Langoni scored the winner four minutes after the break. According to the Revs, it was their seventh home win of the season in eight tries, and it came in their final home game before the World Cup break.

Two Penalties, One Long First Half

The opening minutes went straight to the VAR monitor. Michael Boxall's foul on Dor Turgeman in the penalty area in the second minute went to review, the decision was a penalty, and Gil stepped up in the fifth minute and sent a left-footed penalty into the bottom right corner. The Revs said it was his third penalty goal of the season and the 20th of his MLS career.

New England nearly doubled the lead quickly. Peyton Miller met a Gil cross with a header in the 11th minute, and Drake Callender saved it at the bottom left corner. But Minnesota found its way back from the spot. In the 24th minute, Brooklyn Raines fouled Markanich in the box, and Yeboah sent a right-footed penalty into the bottom left corner two minutes later. Minnesota's club site said the goal was reviewed for a possible double touch before it stood.

The rest of the half was a set-piece festival with no punchline. Turner saved a Nicolás Romero header in the 33rd minute. Callender stopped another Miller header off a Gil cross in the 39th. Joaquín Pereyra could not quite turn in a Tomás Chancalay cross from very close range in the 40th, and Callender denied Langoni from point-blank range in stoppage time. Seven added minutes, plenty of corners, and 1-1 at the break.

Turning Point: Langoni Out of the Gate

New England came out of halftime pressing, with Miller getting a shot blocked in the 46th minute, and three minutes later it paid off. Turgeman found Langoni in the center of the box, and the winger slotted a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner. It was the decisive moment, and it came before Minnesota had settled into the second half.

From there both sides had looks. Turgeman shot just over in the 59th minute, Nectarios Triantis fired high on a break in the 62nd, and Chancalay had an effort blocked in the 70th. Minnesota's Cameron Knowles went for it with a triple change in the 72nd minute, sending on Dieng, Owen Gene and Devin Padelford, while Marko Mitrović took off Langoni for Matt Polster in the 71st.

Minnesota's best spell arrived late. Kyle Duncan's cross found Markanich, whose header Turner saved at the top right corner in the 84th. Chancalay sent a shot from the six-yard box over the bar moments later. Duggan headed a Chancalay cross toward the bottom left corner in the 88th, and Turner saved again. Dieng's header off a Gene cross in stoppage time went straight at him. Minnesota had numbers, crosses and corners. It did not have a way past Turner.

Star Watch: Turner, Gil and Langoni

Turner finished with five saves, three of them on headers from the 84th minute on. That is goalkeeping that wins points, and it is why New England went home with three of them.

Gil and Langoni did the scoring. The Revs said the pair now have nine goal contributions each, tops on the team, and Langoni put both of his shots on target. Alhassan Yusuf summed up how the locker room sees them.

"Every moment with them, they step up," Yusuf said.

Miller was a constant presence too, with four shots, two on target, and a full 90 minutes. Callender made three saves for Minnesota, two of them on Miller headers, and Yeboah converted his chance from the spot before being substituted in the 72nd minute.

Stats That Matter

• Possession: Minnesota 54.4 percent, New England 45.6 percent.
• Shots on target: Minnesota 6, New England 5. Turner saved five; Callender saved three.
• Crosses: Minnesota attempted 31 crosses and completed seven. New England attempted 13.
• Corners: Minnesota won 11 corners to New England's eight.
• Clearances: New England made 36 clearances to Minnesota's 16.

What It Means

New England improves to 8-1-4 with 25 points, and the Revs said the win left them second in the Eastern Conference with eight victories in their last 11 matches. It was also a response to a 3-0 home loss to Nashville on Wednesday, the club's first home defeat of the season.

"When we met on Thursday morning in the locker room, I saw a very hungry group that knew that we could have gotten a better outcome, and that was hungry to come and play tonight, and earn the win," Mitrović said.

The Revs visit Charlotte next Saturday in their last match before the break.

Minnesota falls to 6-3-5 with 21 points and has lost two straight after a 1-0 home defeat to Colorado on Wednesday. Counting a draw with Austin, the Loons are winless in three and have one win in five since a five-match unbeaten run. They host Real Salt Lake next Saturday before the break. Mitrović, for what it is worth, gave them their due.

"I don't think there is a team in this league that will have an easy game against Minnesota," he said.

Closing Take

Gillette Stadium has seen a dynasty before, and the Revs are not there yet, but the home form is starting to look like a building with a bouncer at the door. Seven wins in eight home games, a goalkeeper in form and two attackers carrying the load is a strong formula. Miller put the team's identity into one line.

"Everything we do is relentless," he said. On Saturday, that included the frantic final minutes in front of Turner's goal.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes and notes as reported by the New England Revolution (revolutionsoccer.net), with match notes from Minnesota United (mnufc.com) and the AP recap via ESPN.