Revolution 2023 Home Opener: 3 Thoughts on 3-0 Win Over Houston Dynamo
Are the Revs back?
The New England Revolution had a successful home opener defeating the Houston Dynamo 3-0.
It was a chilly March evening at Gillette Stadium. New England battled the cold and won its first two games of the season for the first time in club history.
Bruce Arena trotted out a new-look starting XI as Dylan Borrero and Bobby Wood were the two strikers up top for the Revolution. The back line remained unchanged but Latif Blessing made his New England debut.
So what do you need to know about the Revolution’s historic win? Here are three thoughts.
1 - Blow from Borrero Before Half
It took until nearly halftime for the Revolution to tally their first shot on target but Dylan Borrero made it count.
While starting off as a striker, Borrero would eventually return out wide where he was able to work his magic. He once again showed the ability to go at defenders but also showed some impressive vision and passes.
Bye deserves a lot of credit for his ball into the box that he sent into the box in the 42nd minute. It was a beauty that found Wood who gave just enough touch to flick it to Borrero. The 21-year-old didn’t quit on the play and his shot snuck into the back of the net.
Borrero’s night ended in the 69th minute and along with a goal and an assist, he completed over 80 percent of his passes and had 44 touches.
Overall, Borrero put in a performance that should excite Revolution fans. After a full offseason with New England, he is looking like the player fans were expecting when he was first acquired.
2 - Bobby Wood is your Leading Striker
That is not something that I expected to be saying in 2023.
After a difficult start to the season for Vrioni, Wood got the start and he repaid Arena for putting his faith in him by scoring his first goal of the season.
The play began with Carles Gil sending a beautiful ball to spring DeJuan Jones forward and Wood had an easy goal with Jones providing a quality cross into the box.
Besides the goal, Wood actually was quite impressive. He worked hard up top putting pressure on the Houston back line and was exactly what you wanted from a striker. Wood came off in the 69th minute with a goal and an assist to his name.
The veteran showed great vision with his backheel assist on the Borrero goal and toasted the Dynamo’s back line on the way to his goal. While Vrioni doesn’t have to worry about his spot, Wood’s play will give Arena a selection headache up top, especially with Gustavo Bou soon being ready to play.
3 - The Revs are Back (For Now)
After a season where everything went wrong for New England, everything has gone right for New England. Instead of being unable to find goals, the Revolution are scoring goals that they probably shouldn’t (just look at Bye’s goal).
This is the first time that the Revs have won two games to start the season. In no way should you be placing bets for New England to win the MLS Cup, they aren’t returning to the poor form that they had in 2022.
Carles Gil looked like Carles Gil. His beautiful passing was on full display and had a role in the Revs first two goals of the game. To steal a saying from New England’s roommates at Gillette Stadium, everyone did their job. This team looks like they can contend in what will be a competitive Eastern Conference.
This is a historic start for the Revolution and New England should be commended for getting off to a good start. While Houston won’t be competing for trophies, the Revs can’t control the schedule laid out in front of them.
But New England will face its first real test next Sunday when they head out to California to play the defending champions LAFC.
Commentary last night suggested that Houston was up and coming