Recap: Revolution II 1 - Carolina Core 2
An early red card and late collapse extends Revs II winless run to nine games.
Richie Williams and New England Revolution II returned to action Saturday evening when they traveled to Truist Point in High Point, North Carolina, to square off against 13th-placed Carolina Core FC as Revolution II looked to snap an eight-game winless streak while also looking for their first road win of the season.
Williams made four changes from the lineup that suffered a 2-1 loss to Columbus Crew 2 in their last outing. JD Gunn returned between the sticks behind the back line of Malcolm Fry, Eric Klein, Sage Kinner, and Colby Quiñones. Patrick Leal and Javaun Mussenden were defensive midfielders behind Joshua Bolma, Jack Panayotou, and Alex Monis. Marcos Dias served as the lone striker.
Mussenden found himself in the referee’s book early as he was shown yellow in the eighth minute after standing in front of Carolina Core when they attempted to restart the game with a free kick.
Monis nearly got Revs II’s offense rolling in the ninth minute. After breaking down the right flank, Monis sent the ball centrally to Jack Panayotou in a pocket of space. He took a touch and looked to drill the ball into the upper half of the net but put too much on it as it sailed over the goal.
The duo of Monis and Panayotou combined again in the 16th minute to get things going. It started with Panayotou darting up the middle of the pitch and sending a ball forward to Monis. After initially losing possession, Monis quickly got onto the ball and darted at goal. He slotted a high shot past Alex Sutton and in to give Revs II the 1-0 lead.
Things went from good to bad four minutes later when Mussenden fouled Facundo Canete. The referee quickly fished into their pocket and brandished a second yellow card for Mussenden as Revs II found themselves down a man for the remaining 70 minutes.
Just as it looked like Revolution II would cruise to a hard-fought win on the road, things changed in the 86th minute. Derek Cuevas got under a highly lofted ball and tapped it forward into the path of Canete. He proceeded to slot the ball past Gunn and in to level the match at one apiece.
Two changes came in the 89th minute when Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi and Damario McIntosh replaced Colby Quiñones and Malcolm Fry.
Things went from bad to worse for Revs II in the first minute of stoppage time when Canete got on the end of a cross from Evans and headed the ball past Gunn to give Carolina Core the 2-1 lead and eventual win.
It was a tough result for Revolution II as the second team remained winless on the road in 2024 while their winless run stretched to nine games. A streak they’ll look to snap on August 31 when they host Chicago Fire II inside Gillette Stadium at 6:00 pm ET.
A poor season for Richie Williams. His style of play isn't working.