Revolution II 1 - Columbus Crew 2 3: Four Thoughts
A rough outing for Revs II, who see their winless run extend to five matches.
Revolution II returned to action Thursday looking to get back into the win column following a crushing 1-0 loss to Chattanooga FC on Saturday. Their woes continued as Crew 2 netted three unanswered goals before Patrick Leal netted a golazo to prevent the shutout.
Here’s four thoughts.
1 - Abundant Absences
Like their loss on Saturday, Revolution II saw themselves depleted due to injury, international duty, and suspension.
Colby Quiñones, Alex Monis, Olger Escobar, and Jamie Kabuusu remain on international duty, while Marcos Dias, Victor Souza, and Liam Butts found themselves out due to injury. Additionally, Tiago Suarez served a one-game suspension for the double yellow card ejection he saw against Chattanooga.
While the deck was stacked against Revolution II, it was a pretty good effort from the start. That all changed following the second goal when the pressure got to a young Revs II side.
Thankfully for Revs II, things should hopefully return to normal by the time they return to action on June 14th.
2 - No Lack Of Effort
Despite the difficult circumstances, Revolution II put up a good fight until the mishap that led to Columbus’ second goal.
While missing some of their top players, Revs II ended the night with six shots on target and put Stanislav Lapkes to work throughout the match.
While they did generate some chances, it was a could’ve should’ve would’ve result for Revolution II as they failed to capitalize on some golden opportunities that could have altered the events of the game.
The first came just 12 minutes in when Patrick Leal got on to Gevork Diarbiian’s saved shot coughed up into the box. With Stanislav Lapkes recovering and the Crew 2 defense stumbling to recover, Leal had a golden opportunity to slot the ball into a mostly open net and put Revs II up 1-0. Yet Leal opened his hips too much and sent the shot dribbling wide right of the post.
Another opportunity came in the 35th minute when Braedon Smith nearly found his first professional goal but sent a shot just wide left of the net.
While Revs II easily set up chances, there have been moments throughout the 2024 season where they’ve failed to capitalize on some golden chances.
3 - Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?!?
Look, there's plenty of season left for Revolution II to turn things around. Yet, as I look at the MLS NEXT Pro standings following the loss, it doesn’t look good.
Revs II find themselves in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with 13 points in 12 games played. While they only sit four points behind eighth-placed New York Red Bulls II, Revolution II has played one or as many as three games more than some Eastern Conference sides.
Looking back to the first two MLS NEXT Pro seasons, 40 and 42 were the point totals for the last-placed playoff team in the East. At 13 points, they’re 28 points shy of that 41-point average.
I’m usually the type of person who believes there is always a chance until it's mathematically impossible, but considering the number of games already played, current form, and their 1.08 points per game figure, some things need to change for Revs II if they want to make it to a second-consecutive postseason.
4 - Fountain Of Youth
Regardless of how this 2024 season ends statistically for Revs II, the biggest win for the club and the organization comes down to the sheer amount of development we have seen so far this season.
2024 has seen Hesron Barry, Liam Butts, Gevork Diarbian, Luka Borovic, Damario McIntosh, Eric Klein, Alex Parvu, Cristiano Oliveira, Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi, JD Gunn, Braedon Smith, Grant Emerhi, and Gabriel Chavez all make their professional debut. I highly doubt the list of names won’t continue to grow throughout the season.
It’s one thing to get a debut, but most of the names listed above have seen a significant amount of playing time under Richie Williams. Playing time will do these young players justice and serve as an avenue to continue developing into potential first-team talent of the future.