Recap: Revolution II 1 - Chicago Fire II 1
Revs II secure two points following a draw and shootout victory at home!
Richie Williams and New England Revolution II returned to action Saturday night when they welcomed Chicago Fire II to Gillette Stadium for the second time in 2024.
Williams made four changes to the lineup that suffered a 2-1 loss to Carolina Core FC on August 24. JD Gunn started in goal behind the back line of Malcolm Fry, Tiago Suarez, Sage Kinner, and Colby QuiƱones. Maciel, Eric Klein, and Luka Borovic started in midfield behind the attacking trio of Gevork Diarbian, Marcos Dias, and Joshua Bolma.
Things got off to an incredibly rough start for Revs II when a poor defensive half turnover led to Chicago playing the ball forward to Omari Glasgow. Glasgow proceeded to rocket a ball past Gunn and into the net to give Chicago a 1-0 lead just three minutes in.
Fry nearly leveled things in the fifth minute. After driving into the box, Fry attempted to slot one near post, but Patrick Los was aware and made the save to keep Revs II off the board.
Revs IIās offense got rolling in the 24th minute when a ball was sent up the left wing to Diarbian. The winger proceeded to cut the ball back into the path of Dias, who easily slotted it in. Revs II had no chance to celebrate as the assistantās flag was immediately raised following the goal.
After his initial strike was wiped off the board, Dias again found the net in the 28th minute. After winning the ball back in their attacking half, Borovic tapped the ball forward to Dias, who drove at net and unleashed a shot from distance that evaded the reach of Los.
Diarbianās efforts in the 35th minute nearly led to Revs II finding the lead. After mowing down the left flank, he cut a ball centrally to Bolma. Bolma ran onto the open ball and attempted to strike it past Los, but put too much on it as it sailed over the goal.
Williams made one change before the start of the second half as Damario McIntosh came on to replace Maciel. Another change came in the 58th minute when Cristiano Oliviera came on for QuiƱones.
Diasā solo effort nearly broke the deadlock in the 70th minute. After getting onto the ball on the left flank, the striker drove at goal before attempting to curl a shot to the far post. It looked destined to go in, but it didnāt curl enough as it ricocheted off the right goalpost.
The match took a turn in the 80th minute when Sage Kinner fouled Christian Koffi from behind just yards outside the box and was shown a red card. Jean Diouf saw yellow for Chicago in the 84th minute after his elbow connected with the head of Dias when he attempted to leap for the ball. A scuffle between both sides saw yellows brandished in the 88th as Fry and Christian Koffi entered the book.
Two changes came in the 90th when Grant Emehri and Andrej Bjelajac came on to replace Bolma and Diarbian.
The match took another turn in second minute of stoppage time when Diouf saw his second yellow card after fouling Andrej Bjelajac.
With neither side finding the go ahead goal, both sides walked away with a point following the 1-1 draw and searched for another in the shootout.
Jacob Akanyirige stepped to the spot looking to secure the additional point for Revolution II. Akanyirige sent a right-footed shot to the bottom-right corner and in to give Revs II the 4-2 shootout win.
While it wasnāt three points, it was a massive result for Revolution II, whoāve struggled to pick up points consistently in 2024. The second team will look for three points on September 8 when they welcome Toronto FC II to Gillette Stadium at 7:00 pm ET.