New England Revolution
New England’s playoff hopes have taken another hit.
Dylan Borrero during the Revolution’s match against Orlando City. By the New England Revolution
The Revolution lost on the road 3-0 to Orlando City on Saturday night in what proved to be a frustrating encounter for the visitors.
Hoping to revive a faltering playoff race, New England were unable to generate consistent pressure and conceded two goals in the first half despite a bright start. A world-class left-footed long-range strike from Orlando full-back Rafael Santos and an injury-time penalty from Facundo Torres gave the home side a comfortable lead at the break.
In the second half, the Revolution failed to find a consistent path towards the Orlando goal, conceding another strike in the 74th minute to City striker Duncan McGuire.
With the loss, New England finds itself six points off the playoff line and once again tied with Chicago for the final spot in the Eastern Conference.
Here are some points to remember:
Hopes of making the playoffs are fading.
Despite a two-game lead, New England hasn’t done much to resemble a playoff team in recent weeks. Since the regular season returned after the Leagues Cup, Caleb Porter’s team has won just one game in four.
Saturday’s game demonstrated that a common refrain of the summer – that the Revolution would be able to make a serious playoff push when new signings arrived and injured players returned – may have been slightly exaggerated.
Despite having an optimal four-man attack consisting of Giacomo Vrioni (forward), Dylan Borrero (left wing), Carles Gil (central attacking midfielder) and Luca Langoni (right wing), New England once again looked disorganized and lacking the final pass needed to create scoring chances.
With midfielder Matt Polster being dropped in the last minute, Mark-Anthony Kaye was called back into the starting XI. Partnered by Ian Harkes, the duo failed to take control of the game.
Unable to find a rhythm in attack, players like Borrero and Vrioni committed numerous turnovers. Several of them led to Orlando counterattacks (and scoring opportunities).
It is an unfortunate return to an early-season dynamic in which the Revolution looked slow in possession and vulnerable on the counterattack.
Orlando once again took advantage of set pieces, albeit in a different (and lucky) way.
The Revolution have consistently struggled to defend set pieces in 2024 and have not scored from a set piece in months.
That trend continued against Orlando, although it was probably one of the unluckiest versions.
In the 22nd minute, after a first half in which New England had been slightly better, Santos received a pass from a corner at the top of the box. The Brazilian pivoted and fired a perfectly struck shot into the far corner of the net. Revolution goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic had no chance.
Of course, while Santos deserves credit for scoring such a spectacular goal, it only happened because he had far too much time with the ball in a dangerous position. Another bad defensive habit of the Revolution (not blocking opposing attackers in the box) once again played a detrimental role.
Alhassan Yusuf makes his debut in the Revolution.
Perhaps the only bright spot for New England was the club debut of midfielder Alhassan Yusuf. Signed in August by Belgian club Royal Antwerp, Yusuf came on in the 72nd minute for Harkes.
The 24-year-old Nigerian didn’t do much in what was at that point a largely decisive game. He did, however, show some of the qualities that have the Revolution chasing him, including his pace and tackling ability (something New England’s midfield was sorely lacking in the first half).
It remains to be seen whether Yusuf – like other mid-season signings by the Revolution – will be able to fully acclimate to MLS in a few games. Still, the early returns (brief as they may be) look promising.
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