RISING REVOLUTION WASH AWAY THE WHITECAPS
Look out Major League Soccer. The New England Revolution are on a three-game winning streak. Where does that put the team? That places the Revolution dead last in the Eastern Conference. With 5 wins though, the New England Revolution are the only team in the Eastern Conference with 5 wins. Some teams have 4. The rest have 7+. The Revs have 5. And no one else in the East can say that right now. And 5 feels like a lot of wins considering the abysmal play that themed the start of the Revolution 2024 season.
It's not all about me, but, then again, maybe it is. This is my blog. So basically. My world. And I can claim this world with some dignity and respect because my opinions and predictions have been of an acceptable rate of correct as of late. A few weeks back against Nashville I predicted the Gil lefty banger goal and 2-1 scoreline. This week against the Whitecaps, I predicted a 3-1 win. A prediction that would have rung true had it not been for a Whitecaps goal in the 93rd of 94 minutes (a nasty goal from Ryan Gauld sniping from 40 yards out), having been 3-1 Revs since a 39th minute goal from Esmir. I predicted an early goal to set the tone. Get the crowd going. Noel Buck provided that 7 minutes in. Granted, the Whitecaps responded and took the air out of the stadium briefly in the 13th minute, but the boys responded.
A theme I couldn’t help but note at halftime was… Notice how guys like Dave Romney and now Noel Buck who got legit minutes in 2023 but haven’t played much in 2024 under Porter get their chances and make a real difference for the team? Dave Romney stepped in and we have won 3 straight and Henry Kessler hasn’t seen the field since being suspended for Yellow Card accumulation. Buck replaced Kaye tonight for honestly, I’m not sure what reason, and scored a goal 7 minutes into the game. An absolutely beautiful goal. Placed it in the upper ninety. Powerful shot but finessed with the inside of the left foot.
Ivacic, who has been incredibly solid, and had some great saves tonight, showed moments of seeming disinteresting, watching the ball go past him into the net. The goal around 12:25 where Ivacic watched a header from Vancouver bounce slowly past him left me truly perplexed and scratching my head. I scrapped for excuses like, his momentum was going the other way, he was wrong footed, he thought the ball was going elsewhere. Frankly though, it looked like he just forgot he was responsible for minding the net. And frankly, that’s okay because we won. And 3 points is what this team needs more than anything else.
Borrero was cooking saturday night. I was with my friend Ben at the game, shout out Ben. Eats my horsies in chess but he’s a good guy nonetheless. He first commented on Borrero’s short shorts. It’s always an eye catcher. Even more eye catching that Ben quickly picked up on next was the speed. Borrero was blazing his way around the turf Saturday night. As noted in my wonderful pregame analysis, the combination of Jones and Borrero would be key to victory. And they did combine, and they did win. Borrero particularly was strong, not only with exhibiting his quickness, but ripping some nasty shots. A couple right at the goalie, but a couple that made Yohei Takaoka, goalkeeper of the Vancouver Whitecaps, player to watch from my last blog, really work to save. Borrero was ripping laces knuckle shots that the goalie could only hope to bat away with a glove and live to see the ensuing corner kick.
As predicted, Vrioni was able to get on the board and hopefully gained some confidence to take with him into upcoming matches. It’s been a struggle no doubt, and each week I unfortunately highlight his poor play, marking him as a key player each wing to potentially swing the game in the Revs direction. This week, he was able to help do just that. Caleb Porter has had unwavering confidence in Vrioni and always speaks highly of him. He has done so throughout the season, even at the team and Vrioni’s worst. I respect Porter for this, and I’m unsure if he truly means it or if he knows he has to keep confidence in Giacomo in order for even Giacomo to have confidence in Giacomo. Nonetheless, respect to Vrioni for converting on his opportunity and helping the team win. I hope to see him continue to find his form and find the back of the net.
The last thing I was really happy with as a supporter watching this game was the relentless effort the Revolution put forth. The Revolution were up 3-1 in the 39th minute but continued to put offensive pressure on Vancouver for the remainder of the game. The Revs constantly had possession in the attacking third and created numerous opportunities on net. A team that had absolutely no threat of danger in the attacking end of the field a few weeks ago has grown in leaps and bounds as of late. It’s great to see the Home Team keep attacking, not sitting back in a defensive block and riding the game out, but instead continuing to push forward and attack.
The rising Revolution have a great test next weekend against FC Cincinnati, one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and league as a whole. They are the 2023 Supporters’ Shield winners and currently sit at second place this year behind Inter Miami. New England and Cincinnati last met in March when Cincinnati came to Foxborough and won 2-1. Next week, they face a much different Revs team. And to the Revs advantage, they will be resting while Cincinnati faces off against Philadelphia in a mid-week match this Wednesday June 19th. This will put the Revs recent growth to the test and see how strong this team truly is. I’m excited and cautiously optimistic.
To finish, here’s some views from Gillette Stadium this past weekend. As always, thanks for reading. Bookmark the page so you’re ready for the next blog.
