What a night. What a freaking night.
The New England Revolution welcomed their fellow MLS original club Colorado Rapids into town Saturday night. It was Pride night, a night celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and a reminder that soccer is for all.
The Midnight Riders put together a phenomenal tifo that was displayed prior to the match. Emblazoned on a white canvas featuring the Gillette Stadium Lighthouse beaming stripes of the Rainbow Flag were the words, “Love is Revolutionary.”
Love is revolutionary. Soccer is for all. The game is and should be for everyone. And what a game we all just witnessed.
The working title of my column after the Revolution went down 3-0 early in the second half was, “Mission Impossible: Revolution Get Swept at Home.”
Let us be honest, it was a brutal first half, possibly the worst half of soccer the Revs have played this season. The worst part was that their undoing was all of their own accord. A turnover led to a counterattack. The counterattack resulted in a shot that was saved, but the deflection was dumped right to a Rapids player who buried the ball in the roof of the goal.
The next unfortunate event was an injury to Revs Forward Tomás Chancalay, which forced him out of the game, replaced by Luca Langoni.
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Some poor 1-v-1 defending by the Revs immediately after the substitution allowed Colorado striker Rafael Navarro to slip the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal, past a diving Aljaž Ivačič.
Despite a heavy possession and corner kick advantage, the Revs ended the first half down 2-0. It was not how you were hoping for the team to play when they had lost two games in a row at home and were desperate to get a win.
The second half did not start much better. The Revs were inexplicably passive, yet again. Colorado punished their sieve of a defense in the 55th minute to go up 3-0.
It felt like the season was crashing down on us. The Revs were about to get swept for their 3-game homestand, this last loss coming at the expense of a mid-table team in the Western Conference. It felt like the waving of the white flag of surrender was inevitable.
But that did not happen. Instead, the captain decided enough was enough. Carles Gil, the little Magician, refused to lose. He put the team on his back, as he has done so many times this season.
Gil got the Revs their first goal by whipping in a cross in the 58th minute that Rapids defender Sam Vines put past his own keeper. Gil then won a penalty after getting fouled in the box and then converted that penalty in the 86th minute in front of a frenzied Fort.
Now the Revs were rocking, as our favorite broadcaster Brad Feldman likes to say. Gillette Stadium was rocking. Every Revolution fan across New England and the country was rocking.
Carles Gil and the Revolution refused to die. They kept fighting until the very end. They showed the kind of heart that inspires the fans.
The Foxboro Faithful were rewarded when Tanner Beason delivered a perfect cross that was met by a thundering header from veteran striker Maxi Urruti in the 93rd minute. The stadium erupted, fans celebrating as the score drew even, 3-3, with five minutes of extra time remaining.
While the game finished in a tie, and the Revs could not find the go ahead goal, I still consider this result as a win. The Revolution were down and out. They had no one to blame but themselves. It is concerning that they were down 3-0 at home against the Rapids. There is no denying that objective truth.
There is also no denying the positive feelings and joy I had at the final whistle. The Revolution showed heart, fight, and togetherness. They demonstrated what can happen when you never give up, believe in each other, and play your heart out in front of the home crowd.
As fans, that is all we can ever ask for. The team delivered a performance that we will not forget for a long time.
There is more work to be done. There is always more work to be done. The team needs to play better. They need to figure things out. They need to start stringing together results.
But right now I am happy. Happy with how they responded. Happy with how they performed in front of the home fans. Happy with how they never gave up.
