Foxborough, MASS– It was Pride Night at Gillette Stadium and who better to play than the brother club of the Orlando Pride. Orlando City were last in action prior to the international break, losing 3-1 to FC Dallas at Exploria. Since then, the New England Revolution played twice, tying the Union before defeating SKC on the road.
Gil and Jansson Goals See That the Points are Shared
The Post-Adam Buksa Era has Officially Begun for the New England Revolution
Bruce Arena made two changes for the New England Revolution on a night that was briefly centred around Adam Buksa. The Polish striker was in town for a final time before he makes the move to Lens in France. Djordje Petrovic continued in goal with his predecessor, Matt Turner, also on his way to Europe.
The two changes made to the starting line-up saw Omar Gonzalez and Tommy McNamara make way. The former has been riddled with mistakes so far in Boston and so there was a sigh of relief from fans of the club when Jon Bell was the man partnering Andrew Farrell. Sebastian Lletget was the other name to start who wasn’t playing from the start last time out.
Focusing on New England Revolution Bell and after the game he spoke on his return to action following a layoff with injury, saying it’s all about “coming back into the game. [I’m] Trying to shake that rust off but obviously I can’t use that excuse too long.”
Tonight's Starting XI. #PrideNight 🌈⚽️ pic.twitter.com/zuVzfzw9MR
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) June 15, 2022
On the flipside, Oscar Pareja made a few alterations off the back of a prolonged break from playing. Pedro Gallese was touch-and-go to start given that he was representing Peru in their unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the World Cup. The shot-stopper was on the field though, him not being one of the four changes.
Ruan, Andres Perea, Sebas Mendez and Ercan Kara all dropped to the bench and in their respective places were Rodrigo Schlegel, Cesar Araujo, Facundo Torres and Alexandre Pato.
Captain Carles Gil Scored in Style for the New England Revolution
Referee Ramy Touchan wasn’t shy on handing out cards for both teams. Robin Jansson saw yellow with just six minutes gone and Kyle Smith was also cautioned in the final minutes- it really was aggressive from first whistle to last. Also in the early stages, Dylan Borrero was looking super lively for the New England Revolution. The newcomer came close to setting Gustavo Bou up a couple of times, just as he did in Kansas City.
It was Bou playing the playmaker role when the hosts did eventually open the scoring. He dribbled all the way up the field, a cutback here and a nutmeg there, before passing it out wide to Carles Gil. El Capitano cut in and curled his fourth on the season beyond the reaches of Gallese.
Carles Gil is smooth 😎
(via @MLS)pic.twitter.com/LPoyjcBc5U
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 16, 2022
This lead didn’t last particularly long for the Revs though after another defensive mishap. A chaotic corner eventually fell to Jansson and he fired through the legs of Petrovic to make it one a-piece. Here is Bruce Arena’s analysis on the defending for Jansson’s goal: “We made a couple of mistakes on defending that corner for sure. Give them credit, but we did poorly not winning the initial header, not doing a good job stepping to the player.”
Ema Boateng looked as dangerous as ever when foraying forward off of the bench but was unable to turn the screw completely. Other substitutes included McNamara, who came in for Matt Polster after a head collision, and Jozy Altidore too. Petrovic could maybe have done better for the Orlando goal but he made a few good saves, including getting down very well to deny a bullet of a shot from Smith.
Attentions Turn to the Weekend Now
The New England Revolution have been on a very good run of late and their unbeaten streak continues. It could be viewed as two points dropped but looking at the wider picture, 4/6 points from the first two of three outings this week isn’t bad at all. Bou and Borrero combined well on numerous occasions yet again which is promising for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, for Orlando, it is a decent point on the road. The Florida side have kept the Revs at bay with the latter remaining below the playoff line, whilst Orlando are above it. Both will be in action once again this weekend, the New England Revolution will be at Gillette again as Minnesota United and Adrian Heath come to town. Orlando will also be playing in front of their own fans as Houston also fight to get into the post-season picture.
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