Following the New England Revolution’s 3-1 defeat to Orlando City Saturday night, head Coach Caleb Porter attributed the second straight loss in three games to a “shocking” defensive display.
The Revolution (7-1-13, 22 points) started strong, with Giacomo Vrioni scoring the game’s opening goal. But things unraveled in the second half, as a New England squad besieged by injuries gave up three unanswered goals.
Porter noted that being without Xavier Arreaga is a major blow to their defense — and that “the record has not been great” when the team has had to play defenders Henry Kessler and Dave Romney together.
“I’m just very disappointed that they didn’t show more confidence, more nastiness, more pride,” Porter said. “I thought we gave away three cheap goals and that’s very disappointing, and they’re going to have to face the music.”
Injuries are a major factor right now for the Revolution. For the game against Orlando, New England listed 10 names on the league’s player availability report, the most in MLS Saturday night. No other team had more than six players listed.
Homegrown midfielder Noel Buck picked up a quad issue during practice last week, Argentine forward Tomás Chancalay is out for the season following knee surgery, primary playmaker Carles Gil strained his calf.
BetMGM BET UP TO $1,500! BONUS BET REFUND AFTER A LOSS
STATES: AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. US Promotional Offers not available in New York.
Nacho Gil (knee), Peyton Miller (thigh), Nick Lima (groin), Dylan Borrero (hip_, Emmanuel Boateng (hamstring), and Xavier Arreaga were also all unavailable for Saturday’s match.
“In my 10 years in the league, it’s probably as thin a group as I’ve ever had,” Porter said. “It’s a domino effect … when you start to get a few guys injured and then, now you have these windows where you play three games in seven days and you don’t have the ability to rotate, then you get more injuries.”
New England’s thin depth meant midfielder Jack Panayotou, recently recalled from Rhode Island FC, and Thomas McNamara had a chance to impress Porter, and the pair took it.
“The front guys, I thought performed well enough for us to win today,” Porter said. “And especially some guys that hadn’t played a lot … we’re relying on Jack and Esmir (Bajraktarevic) and Tommy, who hasn’t played. Those guys I thought came through today and played really well and (I’m) very proud of that.”
Saturday night was McNamara’s first start since Aug. 31, 2023. The holding midfielder made his return from injury against the Seattle Sounders last weekend with a 22-minute shift off the bench. As for Panayotou, the Cambridge native made his fourth career start in MLS against Orlando and put on an impressive technical showing on the ball, despite not scoring.
It was a physical, productive first half for the Revolution in terms of playmaking execution. In the 22nd minute, an Esmir Bajraktarevic cross from far right to DeJuan Jones set up a tap-in goal by Vrioni, who had scored five goals in the previous five games.
“I was very pleased with the first half performance,” Porter said. “(I) thought we had the better of it. (We) executed extremely well, got a deserved goal.”
The Lions (8-6-9, 30 pts) dominated the second half of play offensively. Five minutes in, Uruguayan attacking midfielder Facundo Torres equalized for Orlando with a commanding strike to the net’s lower left.
“I thought the defending was very poor out of some experienced guys at the back,” Porter said. “Look at the first goal. It’s a bad, bad clearance, middle of the field turns into a quick transition … we’re not alert, Torres jumps on it.”
In his second start of the season, Argentine forward Ramiro Enrique tapped in a through ball from Cesar Araujo past an assembly of Revolution defenders at the 58th-minute mark.
“Second goal (was a) set piece … We’re not hungry enough,” Porter said. “They get the first head and then somehow the guy jumps in front of Dave (Romney) and pokes it home … another not-good goal.”
Torres made it three unanswered when he scored his second goal of the night off a Luis Muriel set-up from the left 82 minutes in.
“The third one … we’re opened up, center backs are out of position, we lose the ball, and again, Torres (scores),” Porter said. “DeJuan’s not tight enough, again, to him.”
Saturday night’s loss to Orlando is the first of three games for the Revs heading into next week, as they look to avenge their 3-1 defeat. The Philadelphia Union are up first Wednesday with FC Dallas following next Saturday at home.
“It’s survival for sure,” Porter said. “It’s not going to look perfect or pretty, but (if we can) play like the first half in this next game for 90 minutes, then I think we’ll have a chance.”
