Jack Panayotou Helps New England Revolution Secure 2-2 Draw Against FC Cincinnati

"I think this he’s a young player, he needs more experience, more time with the second team to help prepare him for the first team."

Photo By ©J. Alexander Dolan

In the 67th minute, Bruce Arena made some changes and that included entrusting 19-year-old Jack Panayotou to help see out the 2-2 draw.

In 23 minutes played, Panayotou won two tackles while having two clearances and a recovery. Beyond the stats, the youngster made some key clearances and turnovers to get the ball out of New England’s half and ensure that the Revs walked away with a point.

Bruce Arena touched on Panayotou’s performance after the match.

“[Panayotou] did okay. I think this he’s a young player, he needs more experience, more time with the second team to help prepare him for the first team,” Arena said. “But he hung in there, he did okay. The game’s still a little quick for him. He’s going to get a little better as he continues to move forward.”

When it comes to Panayotou’s game, a lot of the focus is on what he can do with the ball at his feet and on the attack. Against Cincinnati, he showed that he can defend and be a multi-faceted player.

It was interesting to see that Panayotou was brought on with the likes of Esmir Bajraktarevic remaining on the bench. Bajraktarevic’s last first team appearance came on May 20th against the Philadelphia Union. Since then he has been playing with Revs II.

Looking ahead, Panayotou could be in line for more playing time. After picking up a yellow card for simulation, Carles Gil is slated to miss New England’s match against the New York Red Bulls due to yellow card accumulation. While it appears that the card should be revoked — with the Cincinnati defender making contact with Gil and not the ball — right now Gil is slated to miss the miss match.

Unless Arena wants to fool around with formations, the Revolution will be in need of a No. 10 or a player with a similar style of play as Gil. While the likes of Panayotou are far from the skill of New England’s captain, he does have a similar playstyle to Gil. Playing 90 minutes on the road at Red Bull Arena would be a tall task for the 19-year-old but sometimes players just need to be thrown into the deep end.

So while Panayoutou had a solid performance against one of the best teams in MLS, Revolution fans need to be patient. This can be made difficult when you have the likes of Noel Buck immediately making an impact as the 18-year-old has done so far in 2023.

But as Arena said, the 19-year-old needs more experience and playing time to unveil his true potential as a player.