Revs II 1 - Huntsville 2: Three Thoughts
Three thoughts following Revolution II's disappointing loss to Huntsville City SC.
New England Revolution II’s woes continued Wednesday when they suffered a crushing 2-1 defeat at home to Huntsville, who played down a man for 40 minutes. Here are three thoughts.
1 - Deflating Defeat
Coming off three straight losses, a meeting with the Eastern Conference bottom feeders, who only had two wins on the season, seemed like the perfect opportunity for Revs II to get a much-needed win. How wrong I was.
Things got bad in the 33rd minute when Jonathan Bolaños got on the end of Woobens Pacius' saved shot and drilled the rebound into the back of the net.
Despite Patrick Leal finding an equalizer before halftime, it was immediately erased upon the start of the second half when Pacius got on the end of a bouncing cross that evaded J.D. Gunn and scored the eventual game-winning goal.
Losing to a team that only had two wins on the year entering the match is embarrassing on its own, seeing how Revs II lost made it even worse.
 2 - The Leal Deal
Patrick Leal has been the saving grace of this 2024 Revs II side.
Not only has he been a presence in Revs II’s offense, but Leal has done so while being versatile. While primarily playing as a midfielder, Leal has moved into the attack several times this season. While some players might struggle when asked to play a position they aren't familiar with, Leal has held his own when placed atop the Revs II attack.
Since arriving in New England in the middle of 2023, Leal has been a vital part of Revs II's attack. Through 28 appearances, Leal has tallied four goals and six assists.
Hopefully, he can continue being a presence on offense.
3 - Missed Chances
Another thing that added to the disappointment of the loss was the absurd number of chances Revs II generated yet failed to capitalize on.
Revs II ended the match with 28 shots taken with eight on target. While they generated a lot of chances, their finishing was lacking as shots sailed just wide of the net or were directed right at Huntsville’s keeper.
Their lack of capitalizing on chances has truly haunted Revs II throughout 2024 and the stats show it. Per MLS NEXT Pro stats, Revs II is in a two-way tie for fifth alongside SKC II for most shots on target with 89. While ranking high in shots on target, they rank 11th worst in goals scored with 25.
Per FotMob, Revs II ranks 11th in shots on target per match with 5.1 while they rank 18th in goals per match with 1.5.Â
The stats clearly show Revs II haven’t taken advantage of the opportunities they were able to create. Hopefully, we’ll see Revs II be more precise throughout the remainder of 2024.
Have to think that this is Richie Williams final season here.
He wrecked Revs 1 last year and seems to be wrecking R2 this year.
Their missed chances remind you so much of the first team they just can not finish the job. Not to knock Gunn but it is time to put Weinstein between the pipes.