Revs II Recap: Revolution II Losing Streak Continues
Revs II Recap: Revolution II Losing Streak Continues
Revs II's losing streak extends to six games while they remain winless on the road.
After a much-needed bye, Richie Williams and New England Revolution II took the field at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia, as they squared off against Atlanta United 2 in hopes of snapping a club-record five-game losing streak while simultaneously looking for their first road win of the 2024 season.
Williams made three changes to the lineup that suffered a 3-2 loss to Chicago Fire II on July 21st. JD Gunn got the start in goal behind the back line of Moshtaba Al-Hasnawi, Tiago Suarez, Giovanni Calderón, and Colby Quiñones. Eric Klein, Marcos Dias, and Patrick Leal got the start in midfield behind the attacking trio of Joshua Bolma, Liam Butts, and Alex Monis.
Butts came close to finding the opener just five minutes in. After a poor turnover in Atlanta’s defensive end, Butts got onto the ball and attempted to find the upper-right corner but failed to strike it accurately as it sailed out for a goal kick.
Atlanta got its offense rolling in the 13th minute when Karim Tmimi got on the end of Erik Centeno’s cross from the right flank and headed the ball past Gunn to put Atlanta United 2 up 1-0. Alan Carleton took advantage of the lack of pressure from Revolution II in the 36th minute when he unleashed a curling shot from yards outside the box to the upper-right corner and past Gunn to give Atlanta United 2 a 2-0 lead. Then a quick counterattack led Atlanta to success in the 39th minute. After driving down the right flank, Rodrigo Neri sent a ball centrally to an open Carleton, who found himself one-on-one with Gunn and slotted the ball into the back of the net to notch his second goal of the half as Atlanta United 2 took a 3-0 lead.
Williams made two changes before the second half started, as Olger Escobar and Malcolm Fry replaced Leal and Al-Hasnawi.
Fortune changed for Revolution II in the 48th minute. After driving down the right flank, Monis crossed a ball centrally to Butts, who struck the ball on a volley past Jayden Hibbert and shrunk Atlanta’s lead to two.
In the 51st minute, Dominik Chong Qui took Monis down inside the box, which awarded Revs II a crucial penalty kick. Monis stepped to the spot looking to net his seventh goal of the season and shrink Atlanta’s lead even further. Monis attempted to slot the penalty kick to the left side of the net, but Hibbert dove the right way as he stopped Monis’ shot from finding the net.
Another change came in the 66th minute when Gevork Diarbian and Luka Borovic replaced Butts and Bolma.
Revs II shortened the gap in the 69th minute as Monis amended his earlier miss. After receiving Dias’ pass from the center, Monis sent a shot on target from yards outside the box. While Hibbert got to the shot initially, it bounced and ended up in the net as Revs II shrunk Atlanta’s lead to one
Williams’ final change came in the 86th minute when Andrej Bjelajac replaced Monis.
Despite the sheer number of chances, Revolution II failed to level things as Atlanta United secured the 3-2 win at home. Saturday’s disappointing loss sees Revs II’s abysmal losing streak extend to six games while they remain winless on the road.
It’s another quick turnaround for Richie Williams’ side as they return to Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, August 7th, when they host FC Cincinnati 2 at 11:00 AM ET.
Glad Onalfo kept his boy Ritchie to make sure the second team players are ready to easily acclimate to the losing culture of this regime
Something isn't working between the players and the coach. They have the talent to be much better than their record shows. Maybe Williams hasn't figured out the combination of players that work well together? You would think by now if that was the problem he would have figured that out??