Nyassi the difference for Impact

FOXBOROUGH, Mass.  ●   Sanna Nyassi’s sublime finish with a half hour to play on Sunday night handed the Montreal Impact their second road win of the season – and their second victory over the New England Revolution in the space of a month – with a 1-0 result at Gillette Stadium.

Nyassi decided the match with a fine display of individual skill in the 61st minute. The Gambian midfielder collected the ball with a timely tackle inside his own half, surged through midfield with the ball at his feet and thundered his effort past Matt Reis to give his side all three points.

The result sent New England tumbling to a fifth defeat in their past six matches.

Neither side really found its stride in a first half devoid of real opportunities, but the Revs did hit the woodwork twice shortly before halftime as they attempted to secure a first win in six attempts.

Tierney offered the first salvo off of Troy Perkins’ goal frame after 36 minutes. Tierney cut inside and tried to curl an effort into the penalty area with the outside of his left boot. The service slipped through a glut of players, but deflected off the far post before Perkins gratefully collected.

While that effort enjoyed a bit of fortune, Saer Sene’s chance five minutes little owed much to midfielder Lee Nguyen’s vision. Nguyen picked the French striker out on the counter to create an opportunity on the right side of the penalty area. Sene moved inside onto his left foot and struck his effort off the crossbar to ensure the sides would go into halftime on equal footing.

Sene found himself on the end of another golden opportunity ten minutes after Nyassi’s wonderstrike. Every member of the Impact expected the assistant referee to rule Sene offside after Nguyen floated the ball towards the penalty area, but the flag stayed down as the lanky striker got his head to the ball. Perkins responded with a fine one-handed save to preserve the Impact’s advantage and secure a first road win since a 2-0 victory at Sporting Kansas City on May 5.

New England’s next chance to break out of their slump will come next Saturday against the Chicago Fire, while the Impact will have a chance to make it four straight wins against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes the same night.

FIRE 3, UNION 1

Chris Rolfe scored two goals and Arne Friedrich added one to lead Chicago past Philadelphia.

The Fire (11-7-5) moved past D.C. United and into fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 38 points. Chicago has won two straight and is 2-0-1 in its last three matches.

Philadelphia (7-12-2) took a short-lived lead with an own goal in the 34th minute, but Rolfe tied it the 43rd minute, and Friedrich gave the Fire a 2-1 advantage with a goal in stoppage time. Rolfe’s second goal in the 56th minute gave Chicago a two-goal cushion.

GALAXY 4, CHIVAS USA 0

Juninho scored twice and captain Landon Donovan had four assists as Los Angeles blanked in-stadium rival Chivas USA.

The Galaxy earned the victory without David Beckham, who was in London for the Olympics closing ceremony. Without Beckham, the Galaxy solidified their place in the Western Conference standings, surging to 36 points – 10 ahead of Chivas.

Robbie Keane gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute with his 10th of the season, Juninho scored a pair of goals 10 minutes apart in the second half, and Omar Gonzalez added a late tally to make it 4-0 one week after the Galaxy lost 4-0 at Seattle.

Donovan’s four assists are a career high.