New England Revolution 1 - Chicago Fire 1: 3 Thoughts

It was a perfect storm on Saturday

Photo By ©J. Alexander Dolan

The New England Revolution returned to MLS play on Saturday as they faced the Chicago Fire at Gillette Stadium.

Caleb Porter was forced to make some changes as international duty took starters such as Henrich Ravas and Esmir Bajraktarevic away from the team.

Earl Edwards Jr. earned the start in net while Dave Romney, Henry Kessler, and Andrew Farrell made up the back line. Ian Harkes and Matt Polster served as the defensive midfielders while Carles Gil was in his usual No. 10 role.

Tomas Chancalay and Nacho Gil were on the wings with Giacomo Vrioni looking for his third goal in as many games.

Entering Saturday’s match, New England had a 10-game unbeaten streak against Chicago.

But what do you need to know about the Revolution’s first point in MLS this season? Here are three thoughts.

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1 - Rain, Rain Go Away

The conditions were awful on Saturday afternoon and it affected both teams. The heavens opened up above Gillette Stadium as the pitch was pelted with rain.

This created turnovers a plenty for both sides and made it difficult for the teams to piece anything together. While there was some good exchanges between teammates that were in a close proximity to one another, there were plenty of poor touches and passes throughout the match.

But the weather was perfect for the Revs to try and utilize Porter’s love of pressing to create turnovers and attacking chances. New England did a decent job of this but was unable to convert.

In fact, Chicago was able to convert off a turnover and score the first goal of the match. In what seemed like a perfect scenario for New England to pick up three points in league play, the club once again failed to.

Luckily New England was able to convert as the skies opened up in stoppage time and a Carles Gil shot couldn’t be caught by Chicago goalkeeper Spencer Richey and Nacho Gil headed it home.

So while the weather benefitted both teams, it made for some poor soccer on the day.

2 - Defensive Demise

When you look at New England’s back line, you would think that they could be one of the best in the Eastern Conference but they have allowed double-digit goals.

On Saturday the goalkeeping couldn’t be blamed. On the first goal, Edwards Jr. was left on an island as a turnover left Romney all by himself and somehow Cuypers came across goal for an easy goal.

In particular, Kessler didn’t look great throughout the match. He made some more passes and also added an easy missed goal to his tally. Jonathan Mensah has to be waiting in the wings for a run of start soon as he has been serviceable when called upon.

Outside of DeJuan Jones who had some moments, it was a poor showing from New England’s back line against Chicago.

3 - Donde Esta Nuestro Capitan?

Whenever talking about Carles Gil you have to recognize that he is held to a higher standard then other players. If we were talking about Ian Harkes or Gil’s brother his performance might not be worth a mention.

But Carles is a former MVP and the lifeblood of New England’s attack. he needs to perform better than he did against the Fire.

Gil had poor touches and passes that limited the Revs’ attack on numerous occasions. For a player that is usually the best on the field, it was an off night for the Spaniard.

Nacho was the better-performing Gil brother as he put away the stoppage-time goal in the first half. He was able to test Richey and tried to will New England to a win.

But alas, the Revolution have their first point of the MLS season and now can look forward to welcoming Club America to Gillette Stadium.