New England Revolution 4 - LD Alajuelense 0: 3 CCC Leg 1 Thoughts
New England Revolution 4 - LD Alajuelense 0: 3 CCC Leg 1 Thoughts
New England faces its first true test in Concacaf Champions Cup play
The New England Revolution kicked off the Round of 16 in the Concacaf Champions Cup as they faced LD Alajuelense in the first leg on Wednesday evening with a dominant 4-0 win.
The last time that the Revs faced Alajuelense in continental play was back in 2006 as New England suffered a quarterfinal loss. In total, the Revolution are 2-2-1 against the Costa Rican side in continental tournament play.
DeJuan Jones, Dave Romney, Jonathan Mensah, and Nick Lima made up the back line as Matt Polster, Ian Harkes, and Mark-Anthony Kaye served as midfielders. On the attack, Tomas Chancalay started at striker with Nacho Gil and Esmir Bajraktarevic on the wings.
But what do you need to know about New England’s match against LD Alajuelense? Here are three thoughts.
1 - Wide Winners
For the majority of the first half, it seemed as if New England was on the back foot but midway through the opening frame the Revolution capitalized on one of the few chances they received.
Jones sent a lengthy cross to the opposite side of the pitch and Lima volleyed home a beautiful goal. It was a great display of skill and not something that was particularly expected of the veteran outside back. The outside back would also add an assist
Lima was mainly brought in to simply be a serviceable option on the wing. As long as he wasn’t making mistakes and defending well, fans and Caleb Porter would be happy. Any sort of scoring would simply be a cherry on top.
With New England struggling early on. The goal was a much-needed injection of life into a Revolution side that desperately needed it.
2 - Chancalay Continues to Conquer Concacaf
No one loves playing in Concacaf Champions Cup more than Chancalay. The attacker has scored in every CCC game so far and added to his tally on Wednesday evening.
Ian Harkes won the ball at midfield and then executed a beautiful turn. The midfielder found Nacho Gil who played Chancalay into the box the 25-year-old wasn’t going to waste his opportunity.
But the Argentine wasn’t done yet as he converted on a penalty to make his goal tally four goals in three CCC games.
Beyond the goals, Chancalay seems like a teammate’s dream. He doesn’t take it easy when defending and was committed as ever even when up by multiple goals.
The conditions are primed for Chancalay to have a breakout season. If he can score as consistently as he has in CCC play, he will be up for some awards this season.
3 - More Wing Love
We already talked about the outside backs but the wingers also had a fantastic game. Nacho Gil continued to display great passing ability and Esmir Bajraktarevic was able to tally his first CCC goal. Both players also have shown great ability to get by defenders.
Both Gil and Bajraktarevic are red hot at the moment. The fact that the wingers are playing so well and Dylan Borrero is still waiting in the wings should have MLS clubs nervous.
But Porter will also have some headaches selecting his starting XI. It was said a lot in the preseason but there is a lot of talent on this New England roster.
If Giacomo Vrioni continues to struggle, Porter should put some thought in having Chanclay being the starting striker. With how Gil and Bajraktarevic are playing, they both should be in the starting XI if possible.
With the win, the Revolution put themselves in a good position to advance to the next round. Hopefully, they will be able to pick up their first MLS win when they take on Atlanta United on Saturday.