New England Revolution
The Revolution defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2 in front of 27,028 spectators at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night, extending New England's winning streak to 3 games in a row.
First-half goals from Noel Buck, Giacomo Vrioni and Esmir Bajraktarevic were enough to defeat the Western Conference visitors, who scored twice through Ryan Gauld.
Despite the win – and despite New England now having yet one more win than seven other teams within the Eastern Conference – it stays in last place. But with a game lower than the 2 teams closest to them within the table and their best form in 2024, Caleb Porter's side finally look to be on the up.
Here are some insights:
The most complete performance of the season.
After playing well at times against Nashville in early June (also a 3-2 win), the win over Vancouver felt like a fair more comprehensive demonstration of Porter's vision.
Before the season, the Revolution's newly installed head coach talked about wanting his team to “control” games, and Saturday gave the look of the primary time within the Porter era that New England was capable of consistently control proceedings.
The Revolution enjoyed longer periods of possession and likewise found opportunities to dominate with the ball (something they’d lacked in slower moments earlier within the season).
Vrioni's Twenty first-minute goal to place New England back in front (2-1) was telling: The sequence began with Bajraktarevic winning the ball halfway down the sphere. Instead of attempting to drive it forward with no clear options, he ended up getting the ball back to center back Dave Romney. Romney played a brief pass to midfielder Ian Harkes (who was filling in for Matt Polster, who was out with a yellow card suspension).
From there, Harkes made a pleasant progressive pass to Carles Gil. Gil then pushed the ball forward to Dylan Borrero (moving inside from the left wing), who fed Vrioni. The Italian-Albanian shook off his recent problems and finished well. The entire move showed New England's patience in possession, but in addition good movement and skill to seek out teammates in dangerous attacking positions.
Aside from the goals, the Revolution did well to construct from the back. Midfielders Harkes and Buck worked well with Gil and center back Xavier Arreaga to maintain the ball moving all night. The Revolution defended their lead and had 60 percent possession within the second half.
It was Giacomo Vrioni's day.
New England's Designated Player center has faced a number of criticism in 2024 (and indeed for much of 2023).
His performance against the Whitecaps was an excellent response, scoring a high quality goal to cap off New England's previously mentioned excellent passing streak.
In addition, Vrioni had 38 total touches in the sport and accomplished 17 of 20 passes. Both are highlights of his New England profession and show his ability to become involved within the build-up and approach play, something he has lacked in previous games.
If the 25-year-old can proceed to mix his undeniable work ethic with the passing (and ending) he showed on Saturday, it could take the Revolution's capabilities as a team to recent levels.
Carles Gil and Dylan Borrero were the central figures of the sport.
Despite failing to record a goal or assist (rare by his own All-Star standards), Gil was the offensive lynchpin that New England so often needs from him.
The Spanish playmaker had a complete of 102 ball contacts and accomplished 76 of 82 passes (93 percent). Gil has only exceeded this mark once in a game: in a 2:0 Victory over Inter Miami in April 2022.
He also seemed more comfortable making quick passes, helping to maintain New England's pace high.
Borrero, who had one assist, was the third most dear player in the sport (with 87 touches), completing 55 of 61 passes (90 percent). That a winger can boast so many possession statistics is a sign of the Colombian's ability to maneuver around the sphere, which helped him in several crucial moments (most notably his assist against Vrioni).
Both players are vital to New England's season in the event that they need to turn it around. So far, the signs are looking good for the revolution, as Gil and Borrero appear to be working well together.
Noel Buck scored an absolute blast (and fortunately escaped serious injury).
The 19-year-old Arlington native has played noticeably less for the Revolution in 2024 than he did a yr ago. But after Mark-Anthony Kaye was temporarily faraway from the squad resulting from a persistent knee injury, Buck was allowed to start out.
He made a direct impression, sinking an outstanding left-footed shot that put New England ahead within the seventh minute:
While Buck was guilty of a couple of loose touches and misplaced passes in midfield – which could have proved more costly against a team with a more efficient attack than Vancouver – it was still a really encouraging performance.
The only scare got here within the seventieth minute when he went down with an injury that didn’t appear to have been attributable to physical contact. Buck got here on for Andrew Farrell (who was more than likely making his first and possibly last skilled appearance in midfield, given the temporary lack of depth in central midfield) and was capable of run off under his own steam. And in his post-match press conference, Porter said Buck had merely been affected by cramp and that it was not a significant issue.
There remains to be some room for improvement in defense.
While one cannot get too carried away with the present good form provided that the Revolution are still in last place, the previous few weeks have been an encouraging turnaround from New England's perspective.
However, Porter said he can be talking quite a bit with the team about methods to defend higher (and more consistently).
Vancouver's first goal appeared to catch New England by surprise, with wide center back Javain Brown creeping all the best way down the proper wing, receiving a through ball and crossing for Gauld to go in off the post. It was, somewhat surprisingly, the one time the Whitecaps' 3-5-2 system caused the house side any real problems. In fact, Vancouver appeared to switch to a back 4 within the second half to take care of the Revolution's passing.
Defending crosses (and set pieces) particularly still appears to be an issue area for New England. Despite all of the progress Porter's side has made in attack in recent weeks, they still can't defend for 90 minutes.
And as if it were a timely reminder, Gauld's second goal (in injury time) jolted the Revolution back to reality at the top of the sport. After an evening largely defined by dominance and control, New England ended the night with one other one-goal victory. The margins in MLS are, as all the time, razor-thin.
image credit : www.boston.com