Foxborough, MASS– FC Cincinnati and the New England Revolution met for a third time this season. Once again, the former were unable to come out on top- the Revs have truly had their number this year. 2-2 has been a common score line in New England and that was the case once again in a back-and-forth affair. It was a draw with Vancouver last time out and this
New England and FC Cincinnati Share the Spoils
Brandon Bye and Co. Return to the XI
The injury list for Bruce Arena has fluctuated throughout the season. A few weeks back it seemed that the Revs were back to full strength only for a few more injuries to hit. Matt Polster is still sidelined due to concussion protocol whilst there were a few returning faces here. Brandon Bye, Henry Kessler and Sebastian Lletget came into the side which is a huge plus for New England.
Arena’s assessment of the two returning defenders was as follows: “I thought Brandon played a good 90 minutes. Henry, 45 minutes, obviously didn’t do a good job on that corner, conceding an own goal. But it’s going to take him a while. He’s been out basically the whole season”, plus he clarified the Kessler substitution: “We were only going to play him 45 minutes.” Arnor Traustason, AJ DeLaGarza and Jon Bell were the trio to make way whilst Maciel also replaced Tommy McNamara.
Tonight’s Starting XI 🙌 pic.twitter.com/JOZnMZseaT
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 3, 2022
On the flipside, it was a fast turn around for FC Cincinnati following their mid-week thriller against NYCFC that ended 4-4. Due to that, it was hardly surprising to see Pat Noonan make a few changes of his own. The lethal front three of Brandon Vazquez, Brenner and Luciano Acosta was the only are of the field left untouched.
Elsewhere though, the entire midfield in that fluid 3-4-1-2 system was rotated. The experienced Ray Gaddis, Obinna Nwobodo, Haris Medunjanin and Alvaro Barreal all dropped out of the side with Nwobodo being the only one of the four not to make the bench. Alvas Powell, Yuya Kubo, Allan Cruz and John Nelson were their replacements plus Tyler Blackett made way for Ian Murphy in the backline.
Dylan Borrero Continues to Impress
As previously mentioned, the Revs have had the upper-hand in this fixture, whether it be a heavily rotated FC Cincinnati side conceding five in the Open Cup or a thrilling MLS encounter that finished 3-2. This was the best outcome so far for Noonan and co but they still left Boston with just a single point.
After some half-hearted efforts from Gustavo Bou and Brenner at either end, it was Dylan Borrero who fired home the opener. He burst down the low and sent the ball across the face of goal, into the far side-netting. FC Cincinnati drew level just before the break and as was alluded to in the earlier comments from Bruce, it was Kessler that was responsible for the equalizer. Vazquez challenged his fellow American in the air only for an own goal to be conceded
Dylan Borrero is special 😍 pic.twitter.com/XU7SakQtRz
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) July 4, 2022
Just moments after he saw a cheeky flick end up in the arms of Roman Celentano, Bou was on the end of an Ema Boateng cross and he restored the Revs’ lead. This was the Argentine’s fourth goal of the season, taking him level with Carles Gil beyond only the departed Adam Buksa. Here is Boateng’s view on the goal: “He made a hard run to the first post and I just put it [there] and gave him a chance and unbelievable flick there for the goal.” Meanwhile, Arena stated that “He’s not a perfect nine, but he does a solid job.”
It was the turn of FC Cincinnati to strike back once again and who else but Brenner. Djordje Petrovic pulled off a couple of great saves in the second half but he sold Damian Rivera down the river, a loose touch from the youngster then conceding possession. Acosta took over, found Brenner and that is all she wrote. After pointing out the errors from his duo, Arena said that “they’re [FC Cincinnati] obviously pressing to try to get back in the game, and they did. Give them credit. They did a good job.”
What is Going on Between Brenner and FC Cincinnati?
On the topic of Brenner and it is one of the most fascinating storylines in MLS currently. There were rumours flying around that he was on his way out of Ohio with neither party to impressed by how it was all going. There is a space to be filled in the FC Cincinnati attack alongside Acosta and Vazquez and maybe Brenner has claimed that for himself in the last few outings.
The young Brazilian forward netted a hat-trick in the week against the defending MLS Cup champions and was on target again here. Whether this is him showing that he is the right man for the job with FC Cincinnati or just increasing his value for an eventual move, he is doing all the right things.
Stayin' hot. 🔥@09brenner with the smooth finish to level it 2-2. pic.twitter.com/u3qc751CBv
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 4, 2022
After the game, Arena made an interesting point regarding this unbeaten streak. “Of course, we could’ve gotten three points. We haven’t lost a game in 10 games, which is not the worst thing to happen. Could we get more three points? Yes.” There may be a couple of matches where the Revs should have claimed all three points but this run is no mean feat. FC Cincinnati will be pretty content with a point given the various factors surrounding the game. The Revs will visit the aforementioned NYCFC next weekend whilst Cincy will face their city rivals, the Red Bulls.
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