The New England Revolution have struggled to find the back of the net as of late but Wilson Harris could provide just what New England needs.
Harris came to the Revs after a relatively lackluster career in Israel, after dominating the USL Championship. In 18 league appearances, Harris tallied five goals and one assist while in Israel. Prior to heading abroad, he spent three years with Louisville City FC, scoring 46 goals in 107 matches across all competitions. He departed the club as one of the top-five goal scorers in its history.
As soon as he joined the Revs, Harris was earning plaudits for his grit and determination. He scored in a Revs World Cup break friendly, giving fans excitement that he could add to the attack.
But it wasn't until the most recent match that Harris found the back of the net in competitive action for New England. While New England suffered a 2-1 loss against Toronto FC, Harris buried a late chance to give the Revs some life.
A lot of the credit goes to Jack Harrison for a great cross but Harris was in the right place at the right time and didn't let the chance go to waste.
“One of the reasons why we brought Wilson [Harris] here was we felt that he has that feeling in the box to be in the right spot at the right time and has the tools to finish those actions," head coach Marko Mitrovic said. "I would also say that Wilson is a very hard-working player who is trying to execute actions that we expect forwards in that moment to do. He integrated with the group very well. He carries the same values that we carry as a group, and maybe because of that it was easier for him to interact with everyone else. We really appreciate everything that he is doing so far with us.”
The Revs have had players in the right places at the right time but they haven't buried the chances. As of late, that has been Dor Turgeman but Leo Campana and Marcos Zambrano are not immune from this issue either Zambrano and Turgeman even collided when trying to bury a cross right in front of goal against Montreal before Turgeman buried a similarly close chance to give New England a 2-0 lead.
Later in the game, Turgeman missed multiple chances to regain the lead for the Revs. Against Toronto he was rather nonexistent. Turgeman had two shots out of New England’s 24 total but failed to convert. Besides that, the Revs were providing service into the box but nobody was able to bury a chance outside of Harris who replaced Turgeman.
Mitrovic noted in the build-up that the Revs are trying to work with their strikers on timing their runs and being at the right place at the right time.
"It’s something that we are working on with our guys, to make and to time those runs into the box," Mitrovic said. "It’s really not easy. If we speak about the way we want to play, I think we are getting closer and closer to the, I would say, game model or style that we want to expose game-by- game. And then obviously there are going to be pictures that are going to be more and more present for us and something that, as you said, a good amount of balls arriving in the box. For that, we need certain kinds of moments. We have to provide players with clarity on how they can do that in the box. But also sometimes they bring that naturally with them and have the instincts of making the right moments and the right timing. I think that’s something that actually Wilson has, and when he is on the field I think he actually understands that. That’s kind of his strength and that’s the way that he put himself into that sport to score a goal against Toronto.”
Beyond physically being in the right place at the right time, Harris's goal came at a perfect time for the striker.
New England is going to play two games over the course of the next five days. Some rotation will be needed and with Turgeman struggling, it seems like a perfect time to give Harris a start or two.
While it is unlikely to be a permanent solution, Harris might just solve New England’s scoring woes for now.
