FOXBORO – The New England Revolution have capitalized on their three-game homestand to make a surge in the MLS standings.
The Revolution (7-3-6) remained unbeaten at home (6-0-3) with an 3-1 victory over Orlando City SC (7-5-5) on a soggy Saturday night before 21,493 hearty souls at Gillette Stadium.
The Revolution opened the homestand with a 3-1 win over Inter-Miami and will go for the sweep when they host Toronto FC on June 24. The Revolution moved up to third place in the Eastern Division.
“It was a good win for us,” said Revolution head coach Bruce Arena. “I thought we scored three really good goals tonight and Orlando is a good team when they are at full strength and they are certainly going to be a handful.
“But overall, it was a good win for us and the three points are important for us as we start the second half of the season.”
Arena and OCSC rookie game manager Oscar Pareja made alterations to their starting units to compensate for the international callups that rocked their respective rosters.
The Revolution were sans goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic (Serbia), center/outside back Christian Makoun (Venezuela) and forward Damian Rivera (Costa Rica U-23). Midfielder Latif Blessing picked up a minor injury on Friday and did not dress. Backup keeper Earl Edwards Jr. picked up the win in his first MLS start of the season.
UCFC was without goalkeeper Pedro Gallese (Peru) and midfielder Wilder Cartagena (Peru) and Wilfredo Rivera (Uruguay). Mason Stajduhar started in goal for the Lions.
“He (Edwards) did well and I would have like to have seen his get a clean sheet,” said Arena. “We got a little sloppy on (their) goal not marking 13, but Earl did a real good job.”
The Revolution dominated time of possession (67%) and passes (286-145) but the first half ended scoreless. Arena made a key substitution in the 46th minute when he replaced Brandon Bye with Omar Gonzalez. Bye was back in the Starting XI after missing the last four games with a shoulder injury.
“He felt a little muscle tightness so we took him out at halftime,” said Arena.
The Revolution went up 1-0 on an alert play by Emmanuel Boateng in 51st minute. Gustavo Bou launched a bad angle shot form the right flank than Stajduhar redirected to the top of the box. Boateng pounced on the errant clear and deposited the ball inside the far post for his second of the season.
“He (Boateng) did a good job in the formation we were in,” said Arena. “He had to be central, especially defensively and he did a real good job.”
The Revolution went up 2-0 when Noel Buck set up Bou in the 69th minute. Bou made a hard cut from the right side and fired a shot diagonally through the penalty area and inside the far post for his third of the season.
The Lions cut the lead to 2-1 when Duncan McGuire headed home a Michael Halliday cross in the 80th minute. Carles Gil netted the insurance goal in the 85th minute with his team-high seventh of the season.
“It was great finish by Carles for sure and a great run by Giacomo (Vrioni) to open up a little space for Carles,” said Arena.