Revs II Recap: Revolution II 2 (4) - Chicago Fire FC II 2 (3)
Revs II Recap: Revolution II 2 (4) - Chicago Fire FC II 2 (3)
Revs II earn two points at home despite being up a man for nearly thirty minutes.
New England Revolution II returned to action Sunday evening as they hosted Chicago Fire FC II inside Gillette Stadium.
Clint Peay and Revs II looked to bounce back after having their four-game winning streak snapped by a 4-1 defeat to New York Red Bulls II.
There were four changes from June 4th’s loss as Jacob Jackson got the start in goal. Pierre Cayet, Tiago Suarez, and Victor Souza formed the back three as Colby Quiñónes, Joshua Bolma, Ben Awashie, and Malcolm Fry comprised the midfield. Peyton Miller, Jordan Adebayo-Smith, and Jack Panayotou provided the attack.
A familiar face to Revs fans appeared in Chicago’s lineup as the club’s 2023 MLS SuperDraft pick Andreas Ueland dawned the captain’s armband for Chicago. Ueland was selected with the 68th overall pick by the Revs but did not last long as the club parted ways with the Norwegian defender on February 13th, 2023.
Chicago wasted no time getting on the board, as miscommunication and a bad pass led to a costly turnover in the defensive half. Noah Hernandez read the ball perfectly as he ran onto it inside the box and slotted it to the bottom left corner to give Chicago Fire FC II a 1-0 lead fourteen minutes in.
Despite conceding first, Revs II was not discouraged as they worked their way up the field and won a throw-in on the right flank. Suarez chucked the ball upfield into an empty plot of land, where Bolma got onto the ball and whipped a diagonal pass back to Adebayo-Smith inside the box. Adebayo-Smith’s presence inside the box forced the Chicago defense to hone in on him, which left Jack Panayotou wide open behind him.
Adebayo-Smith flicked the ball behind him but his pass had too much on it, Still, Panayotou got onto the ball and blasted a left-footed shot to the bottom-right corner of the net to tie things at one apiece 17 minutes in.
A combination of luck and intelligence came Revolution II’s way in the 21st minute as Revs II hit Chicago with a high press. Feeling the pressure, Noah Egan attempted to send a pass back to goalkeeper Mihajlo Miskovic. However, Egan’s pass lacked weight as Adebayo-Smith ran onto the ball and beat Miskovic to it. Adebayo-Smith sent a right-footed shot into the net to give Revolution II a 2-1 lead.
There was one change for Revs II before the start of the second half as Esmir Bajraktarević came on for fellow Homegrown Panayotou.
A golden opportunity came Revs II's way in the 52nd minute as Egan received a second yellow card after laying a late tackle on Cayet. Egan received his first yellow in the forty-eighth minute after fouling goalkeeper Jacob Jackson.
Despite being down a man, Chicago was not going to give up. Bajraktarević lost the ball in Revs II’s defensive half as give-and-go passing led to Harold Osorio sending a diagonal pass forward to Richard Fleming III on the right flank. Fleming III lasered a right-footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner to keep the 10-manned Chicago Fire FC II in the game.
Malcolm Fry came close to regaining the lead for Revs II in the 73rd minute as he looked to send a right-footed shot from outside the box to the top-right corner of the net. It looked like Fry had snuck the ball in, but Mihajlo Miskovic flung his arm up to deflect the ball over the goal and out for a corner kick.
90 minutes wasn't enough to separate both sides as things ended in a 2-2 draw as both sides secured a singular point. Thanks to MLS NEXT Pro rules, the game headed to a shootout to award a crucial second point to the winner.
Revolution Homegrown Esmir Bajraktarević stepped to the spot with the opportunity to secure a second point for Revolution II. Bajraktarević sent a left-footed shot to the bottom-right corner of the net to give Revs II the shootout victory.
Sunday’s draw and subsequent shootout victory propelled Revolution II to second place in the Eastern Conference as they possess 25 points on a 7-4-2 record with two shootout victories.
Revolution II will look to pick up another win on short rest as they return to action on Wednesday, June 14th, as they host New York City FC II inside Gillette Stadium at 5:00 PM ET.