Saturday, March 10, 2018

The Revs Are On The Board


For the firs time this season, CUE THE MUSIC!!!



After last weeks disappointing start to the 2018 campaign, the Revs answered today with a 2-1 win in the home opener. Some fun facts for you on a Saturday: coming into this game, the Revs had won 8 straight games at home and had not lost a home opener since 2006, when Diego Fagundez was 11 years old, still a few years from his first team debut. 

The lineup situation was going to be an interesting one given the fact both starting center backs in Toni Delamea and Claude Dielna were out due to red cards in week one. This forced regular right back Andrew Farrell to the middle alongside Jalil Anibaba, and provided rookie Brandon Bye the opportunity to start his first MLS game. Aside from the backline shakeup, the only other change was Kelyn Rowe getting the start on the right side of the midfield with Teal Bunbury shifting up top and Juan Agudelo starting on the bench. 

Before we look at the game, recently retired Charlie Davies decided to take in todays contest from The Fort. 
Let's start with the goals:

First up was Diego Fagundez netting the first of the season for the squad.
A good finish, low with power through the traffic, from Diego, but this is all Cristian Penilla. I'll get to him more later, but what a run form him to set this up. Uses his speed to get the ball forward into space and get the Colorado defense back on their heels a bit, than cuts inside on a dime and draws a second defender before laying it off for Diego to put home. Even better is how Penilla didn't just sit back after he makes the pass, he continues to move forward and onside, before breaking towards the goal after the shot for a possible rebound.

Next was Colorado answering via a nice header from the youngster Jackson.
You have to give credit where its due. That was a great run to get in behind by Jackson and a beauty of a ball in. Not to mention the fearlessness of a kid making his MLS debut to put his neck out there to get apiece of the ball and put it in the back of the net.

And finally...
Old Man Tierney, on for an injured Gabriel Somi, shows that his left foot can still be amongst the most deadly in the league. After Wilfried Zahibo is fouled not he edge of the box, its Tierney stepping up and putting a shot on target with good pace and accuracy that gets deflected by the wall and goes right past Tim Howard. Such an exciting finish, as the last real kick of the game ends up being the winner. And Friedel had a great reaction to boot.


Some other game notes:
- Early on the Revs established really nice ball movement, keeping the Rapids defenders moving in the hopes that a miscommunication could break them wide open like an axe going through a log. This along with the aggressive pressing style Brad has implemented should lead to a nu,ver of good chances a game as they force turnovers in the attacking half and keep possession of the ball through quick passes.

-Cristian Penilla is going to be so fun to watch. We only got a limited view last week, but he really showed out today. Aside from setting up the Fagundez goal, he had a few nice runs, had a beauty of a ball to Rowe as he switched the field of play and started to display his attacking creativity along with his blazing speed. I guarantee he has at least one goal this season that leaves our jaws on the floor. The biggest concern, as Paul Marniner on the broadcast also pointed out, is that he needs to make sure he mixes it up a bit on the attack. He's very good at the "run fast at a defender and then cut in onto my right" play, but if he doesn't mix it up defenders will easily be able to clue in on him and play him accordingly.

-I thought Zahibo looked good as well today. He was breaking up attacks in the midfield and winning balls to start counters. He also didn't almost get a red card, which is actually good.

-Diego apparently has chemistry with everyone on this team, because he was linking with Rowe, Penilla, Nemeth and Agudelo.

-As mentioned above, Gabriel Somi was injured today.
I mean, McBean hits Somi with his shoulder and then follows through, and he only got a yellow card. If that was a Rev they'd be tried in a court of law and then publicly executed. Some looked legitimately knocked out for a second. Word is he's groggy right now, so a good bet he has a concussion and will miss some time.

-I am ready for the Teal Bunbury experiment to end. He's a fine depth piece, but he should not be starting. I don't know what happened that has caused Brad to entrust the attack to him instead of Juan or Nemeth, but it needs to change.

-The Matt Turner Era has arrived. I am ALL IN on the kid. A few nice saves and he was aggressive on the goal he allowed, just a little slow to react. I think with experience he's able to punch that ball out of harms way.

Calm, cool, collected on the corner and strong hands to prevent a rebound. And then that PK save. Watching that was mostly sexual for me.

Man of the Match

If he had kept a clean sheet, it would have been hard for this not to be Matt Turner, but Diego was so instrumental in the attack today. He opened the scoring, was involved with everyone, and showed off some of his flashy moves. Also, with the players choosing their own goal songs he has chosen this very song to play overtime he plays at Gillette Stadium. 


Next up is NYCFC at home on March 24. Looking to make it 10 in a row in the friendly confines.

THE REVS DO NOT LOSE AT FORTRESS FOXBORO, THAT MUCH IS CERTAIN MAX KELLERMAN!



Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)