Revs II 1 - Union II 2: Three Thoughts
Revs II 1 - Union II 2: Three Thoughts
Three thoughts as Revolution II's losing streak stretches to three games.
New England Revolution II’s woes continued on Saturday when they hosted first-placed Philadelphia Union II.
It only took Philly 13 minutes to find themselves on the board after a cross into the box took an unfortunate deflection off the head of Damario McIntosh and into the back of the net.
Philadelphia wasted no time doubling their lead as American phenom Cavan Sullivan got hold of the ball and drove into the Revs II box before ripping a shot past J.D. Gunn in the 18th minute to make it 2-0.
Despite Patrick Leal finding his third goal of the season in the 49th minute, Revs II fell short of mounting a comeback as Philadelphia Union II maintained their spot atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 2-1 win.
Here are three thoughts.
1 - Déjà vu
An unfortunate trend for this Revolution II side is their inability to come into games ready to go.
Philadelphia nearly took advantage of that twice in the opening two minutes. After the initial kickoff, Philly won the ball in their defensive half and sent passes all over the pitch. Philly attempted to catch Revs II sleeping and sent a dribbling ball into the box with Edward Davis chasing it. Thankfully, J.D. Gunn got to the bouncing ball before Edward Davis did.
It showed again in the 18th minute when the defense let Cavan Sullivan drive into the box and rip a shot past Gunn and in to make it 2-0 Philadelphia.
Unreadiness has cost Revs II big time in 2024. Through 16 matches, they’ve conceded a goal in the first 15 minutes on five occasions. They’re 0-3-2 with two shootout victories when conceding in the opening 15 minutes.
Hopefully, Revolution II come into their final 12 games of 2024 ready to go.
2 - Welcome Gio!
Before the game commenced, Revolution II announced the signing of defender Giovanni Calderón to an MLS NEXT Pro contract through the remainder of 2024 with an option for 2025.
Gio wasted no time getting acclimated as he started at center back alongside Tiago Suarez.
The New Haven, Connecticut native had a pretty good first outing as he clocked a full 90 minutes while ending the night completing 71 of 83 passes, 11 of 20 long balls, won all three tackles he attempted, cleared the ball nine times, and won seven of eight duels.
Calderón’s addition greatly adds to Revolution II’s defense, and I look forward to seeing what he can do throughout the remainder of 2024.
3 - Bring The Fight
While I’ve been critical of this Revolution II side throughout the season, the one thing I have to give them credit for is their ability to always put up a fight despite the odds in front of them. It eventually prevailed in the 49th minute when Patrick Leal was in the right place at the right time to get on top of a deflected pass and slot the ball home to shrink the deficit to one.
Despite coming up short, you have to applaud the effort these guys put up tonight and throughout the season.