On the night of the organization’s 1,000th competitive game, the New England Revolution’s all-time appearance leader stepped up in a penalty kick situation with a chance to win it for his side. Of course Andrew Farrell finished the deal. Hitting the team’s eighth spot kick in penalties, Farrell’s finish sent the Revs to an 8-7 win and a spot in the Leagues Cup Round of 16, and washed away the bitter taste of so many moments that had built up over the course of this week.
It was a storybook moment almost cliche to write, but the fact Farrell was put in that situation wasn’t the work of some mysterious ghostwriter high in the rafters at Gillette. It was because the Revs put together a gutsy, statement performance when so many things conspired against the guys in the days leading up.
And this kind of performance is what makes a fan, and keeps them around. Put this one right up there among the most memorable Revs decisions of all-time. Because in a game that featured so many twists and turns, the kick had to fall to Farrell in the end though, didn’t it? With the team facing the reality of no manager and no starting goalie, the last thing the Revs needed to do yesterday was start slow and sloppy. They started slow and sloppy. While Farrell went out the hero, he spent the first 15 minutes or so being put through a spin cycle. On Atlas’ second goal, Farrell committed two sins: That weak attempt at a headed clearance, and then his decision to be in no man’s land vs. actually defending Caicedo.
When that shot hit the back of the net, my heart dropped. Earl Edwards Jr., thrust into the starting role as Djordje Petrovic continues to sort his head over a potential transfer out, needed stability in front of him to bed in. EEJ did his initial job, making a save in the 2nd minute. From there, we just needed to be calm—and we weren’t. BUT, credit to the guys where it’s due: From that second goal(ish) on, the game was all New England.
Down 2-0 and with the abyss rapidly coming to us, the guys dug in and showed that maybe they have championship mettle after all. Run ragged in the first 10, the guys managed to settle in as the game wore on, and the Revs got back to a tactic they use to their advantage often—getting DeJuan and Brandon out wide and forward. Right around the 30th minute, it was Brandon popping up with a key pass to set a goal in motion.
Playing a give-and-go with Carles Gil, Bye took Gil’s pass on the flank and played a nice, low pass back to Gil as he crashed through the 18. With our Capi possessing the feet of gods, it was a simple bit of footwork to skate through 4 Atlas defenders, then a fizzing pass back across the mouth of goal found Gustavo Bou for a relatively easy finish.
From there the pressure continued building. When Giacomo Vrioni finally earned the penalty kick to set up Bou’s second, it felt like an earned moment for the squad. That Bou needed a second bite at the apple mattered little, because he got his bite in the end. What a great moment for the team.
Then it was on to PKs. Bullet points now:
- Credit to every penalty taker for burying their shots. That’s not an easy thing to do, especially when you get past the initial 5 takers. And they took them well.
- Carles Gil is not human. In the pregame, former Inter Miami manager Phil Neville said that Carles was the best No. 10 he’s coached against in MLS. I can see why. His movement opens so many things for this team, and his ability to wrangle free on the first goal was *chef’s kiss* beautiful. I hope his knee injury is just a knock and not something serious—the fact he stuck around indicates to me that hopefully that’s the case, and Gil told The Blazing Musket that “we’ll see. It’s not the knee, it’s the muscle. It was a strong kick. I think, like I said, the goal was to stop me, to take me off the pitch. But [Atlas F.C.] forgot the rest of the team, and we won.” THAT’S MY CAPTAIN. But also: Two yellow cards now. A third on Monday would mean quarterfinals if we make it.
- The other captain’s performance last night came from the man Gil handed the armband to—Gustavo Bou. Bou isn’t a spry young pantera anymore, but do you ever really want to fuck around and find out with a panther? In the right place at the right time for the first goal, and on his second credit to him for staying calm after the save and being ready to pounce. He should also thank the Atlas goalie for not gobbling that ball up. Also: If Bou scored that chip to win it, I would have lost my fucking mind and woken up my whole house. It looked like it was going to fall. That’d have been Goal of the Franchise caliber considering the moment.
- Prayer’s up for Brandon Bye. Helped off the field with an injury around his right knee area, I’m fearing this could be a bad one for our right back. Revs are at their best, IMO, when Bye and Jones are bombing up and down the wings and firing crosses in (Bye was so close at the end of the first half…). In that TBM article linked above, interim boss Richie Williams was optimistic that it could be bad, but not that bad an injury.
- Midfield was in shambles early and the pair of subs helped make sure it didn’t fall apart late. Noel Buck was mostly anonymous (but still had a venom-dipped shot), Mark-Anthony Kaye doesn’t know how to keep his legs down on a tackle, and Matt Polster made some questionable decisions on tackles—including one that led to the opener, and another that nearly let Atlas get a third. My hope is that the issue is Kaye and Polster can’t play together, and that either making way for Ian Harkes helps things out. Also think if Noel wasn’t as much of a passenger things might have gotten better. I’d need to watch the tape more, but I swear the game opened up more when Noel quit trying to play as a right winger and allowed Brandon Bye to get into that space (also did you hear Bye chew Buck out at one point? Apple TV mics picked it up). I’ve written about it before: this midfield gets so stretched out at times and good teams are going to make us pay for it. Also Ema is a G. I’m really happy no other MLS team realized what was available. Our gain.
- Giacomo Vrioni: Flat-track bully? Nah I’m just playing around but he’ll be one player watching the tape going “I could have done more.” That header in the opening exchanges stands out as one he will want to do better with, but he also struggled to get involved much at all. Can’t be all his fault—midfield wasn’t exactly springing him free—but it’s something he has to work at. Hope he still starts Monday though. Give him a run.
- Toast to Earl Edwards Jr. Did what he was asked to do. Yes, it would have been great if he could have saved one of those PKs instead of just getting palms on them, but he made a few nice saves and Djordje wasn’t stopping that opener for Atlas. That being said, Petro come back. It’s OK.
- The officials sucked. No control over the game, allowed Atlas to get away with blatant hacks on our best player. It’s a shame that officiating is so bad in the Americas, because it holds the game back. I can’t wait for the first truly contentious moment with Messi. He’s going to get red carded for yelling at someone.
With the PK win, the Revs keep their Leagues Cup march alive. Next up is another “home” game at Gillette on Monday against a Liga MX side, this time Queretaro after Queretaro took down Pumas UNAM last night. I think most Revs fans were hoping for redemption against Pumas, but who cares—we advanced. Monday night should be a good one at the Razor.
The Petro situation
Djordje Petrovic not playing hurts the New England Revolution. That’s a fact. So for as long as this saga continues, the Revs’ chances to win anything are hampered. The situation is hard to assess without all the facts, but from where I’m sitting it seems like Djordje is in the wrong here. I can’t imagine that when he signed a contract extension in the offseason there weren’t talks about a future move, and how it’d have to wait until after this season. If he is going back on that deal, then shame on him. Put the whole team in a shit sandwich situation last night that thankfully they got out of.
But there is still a road back to the first team for Djordje. There has to be. Assuming the club isn’t selling, Djordje is going to have to make his amends and pay his fines, and then you don’t keep your best goalie on the bench. EEJ spoke to Gustavo Lopes of Nossa Radio USA after the match and I was encouraged to hear EEJ say: “Over the week, [we’ve had] a lot of conversations about his situation and him encouraging me to just be ready to play. We have a great relationship so there was no love lost there. He texted me right away and he’s proud of what I did. [I’m] looking forward to continuing to work with him.”
Djordje is young and is going to learn from this situation. Hopefully he pays us back by helping bring home a Cup double this year.
The Bruce situation
No comment. No way. Just want the club to find the truth and adjudicate from there.
By the Numbers
- 1,000 competitive games for the club. #NETID
- 9-2-2 all-time against Liga MX opponents, and 9-1-2 at home. We’re now 11-1-4 at Gillette on the year.
- 150 starts for Brandon Bye now. Hope 151 isn’t a long way off.
- 8 made penalty kicks last night. Give ’em credit: Giacomo, Matt, DeJuan, Nacho, Gustavo, Ema, Ian, and Andrew.
- 9,299 people in attendance last night, but sounded like more on TV at times.
Links
- Revs official game story
- Revs postgame quotes story
A Whately Devil 