Usseglio: Revs Hold On
First win against the Crew since 2021
I think there is something magic in those retro 96 kits. The New England Revolution defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1, a crucial victory on the unlikely quest for a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Crew have been a difficult rival for the Revolution throughout their history, and the last few years have been decidedly one-sided. With the Revs struggling to get results this season, I was less than optimistic heading into Saturday night’s game.
It was not a pretty win. Let’s not kid ourselves.
The Revolution did not look like a completely different team than they have all season. There were numerous opportunities for Columbus to score early in the match. The biggest difference in this game was that the Crew did not make the most of their chances and the Revs did not make fatal mistakes.
While Columbus did what they typically do and dominated the game, New England was able to capitalize against the run of play. Forward Leo Campana scored on a nice assist from fellow South American Luca Langoni in the 25th minute.
La Langosta was played through by Carles Gil along the right side of the Crew’s 18-yeard box. Langoni drove to the goal line and whipped in a low cross across the 6-yard box that found Campana. The Ecuadorian finished on his first touch, putting New England ahead 1-0.
The Revs were able to maintain their composure and not concede in the immediate aftermath of their goal. They would go on to double their lead in the 39th minute from a phenomenal strike by winger Ignatius Ganago.
Center back Mamadou Fofana notched his first MLS assist when he picked up his head near the halfway line. Under no pressure, he was able to play a long ball over the top of Columbus’ defense, finding a streaking Ganago. The timing of the run from the Cameroon international was perfect. Ganago made the most of his opportunity and struck the ball low, beating an oncoming Patrick Schulte.
The Revolution were in front 2-0, both goals completely against the run of play and masterfully finished. They would see out the rest of the half and almost scored a third goal when Langoni was in one-on-one against Schulte.
The Crew came out strong to start the second half but were up against the dogged defending of New England, as called by Revolution broadcaster Charlie Davies. Wilfried Nancy went to his bench, bringing on attacking subs to change the game. New England countered by bringing on center back Tanner Beason in the 62nd minute for Ganago. The substitution came with a change of formation to the 3-5-2.
While head coach Caleb Porter clearly opted for a more defensive shape to resist the attacking might of Columbus, a wicked shot by Dániel Gazdag beat Matt Turner to his far post in the 71st minute. Now the game was on, with the home side trailing 2-1 with 19 minutes left in regulation.
From that point on, Turner was a wall, making some incredible saves to deny the Crew down the stretch. Try as they might, Columbus could not find a second goal and New England walked away with a much needed 3 points.
It feels good to win, doesn’t it? Even if it was a bit nerve-wracking?
Charlie Davies put it well during the post-game show on 98.5 The Sports Hub; we would much rather see the Revs play ugly and win than play beautiful soccer and lose. A win is a win. They all count the same in the standings.
Next up is a clash against mid-table Charlotte FC in Foxboro. This is a must-win game for New England. The Revolution have to be damn near perfect to have any shot of making the postseason.
Maybe there really is something magical about those 96 kits. Right now, the Revs need all the magic they can get.
While it is hard to complain about any win at this point, I had my doubts they would pull it off. Partly having Matt Turner back in net, making a couple of key saves kept them alive. But I felt like after going up 2-0, they seemed to sit back on defense way too early and let the Crew have too many chances. If it was 10-15 minutes left and you bunker down, that makes sense. But they pretty much gave up pressing the offense for most of the second half. Time of possession was almost 2-1 in favor of the Crew for the game. That is just too much time to give to your opponent and likely a long-term losing strategy.