The New England Revolution fought valiantly but ultimately floundered in a 3-2 loss at Toronto FC on Sunday night. The result keeps the Revolution winless through the first three weeks of the 2019 season.
Here are three takeaways on New England’s performance:
Altidore catches Revolution on the press
The Revolution were more than capable of going to bed Sunday night with a share of the points, but played with fire in maintaining their high press late in the game with the score tied 2-2. Jozy Altidore, who entered the match midway through the second half for Jordan Hamilton, produced Toronto’s final moment of magic in the 80th minute when he buried a shot from point-blank range to finish off a play started in midfield by Michael Bradley.
Altidore was wide open on the sequence that produced the winning goal, due in large part to the fact that the Revs had so many players pushed higher up the field. Revolution coach Brad Friedel will have to account for why he chose to have his players keep their aggressive shape so late in the game, particularly when Toronto appeared to have the fresher legs.
Playing for a win is all well and good, but the Revolution pursued three points by leaving their back line understaffed with less than 15 minutes left. Considering the team is touting how it’s trying to possess the ball and be more selective with its pressing, the final minutes of Sunday night’s performance seem like a regression.
Positive responses to Toronto goals
New England continued to fight after conceding each of the three goals, which isn’t easy to do in a tough road environment.
Toronto’s controversial second goal was likely a tough one to bounce back from too, considering Friedel and all of the players protesting for an offside flag.
After taking the lead and conceding twice in a row, the Revs went into halftime and clearly regrouped. They came out with intensity in the second half and it paid off, as Gil equalized with his second goal of the game.
The Revolution kept up their aggression and pushed so far up the field it ended up giving Altidore enough space to score the winning goal somewhat against the run of play. Regardless, New England was in Toronto’s end of the field for most of the remainder of the game after falling behind on the hosts’ third goal.
Give Toronto coach Greg Vanney credit for bringing Altidore on in the 68th minute. When it comes to substitutions, Vanney out-coached Friedel. The Revolution might have shown ever more fight – and snuck out with maybe even more than a point – had Friedel brought Juan Agudelo and Cristian Penilla on sooner.
Carles Gil’s sterling performance
Three weeks in and Gil is already looking like he could be one of the best signings in Revolution history.
With his brace on Sunday, he has scored three goals in three games, which means he also accounts for all of New England’s offensive output so far this season and is tied for Golden Boot lead in Major League Soccer.
Gil was acquired to create goals, not score them, and his record from his time playing in Spain and England suggested he wouldn’t be a bomber in MLS, either. So far though, Gil is blowing up those expectations.
Not only does Gil have vision and pace, but he’s also been remarkably clinical. On Sunday night, all of his shots hit the target. Gil was also particularly visible in all areas of the field. He helped out on defense (three tackles, one clearance) and finished the game with a respectable 75 percent pass success and 88 touches, which was the most on the team.
The touches statistic alone proves Gil is finding ways to get involved. His heat map also shows that he was finding ways to contribute in all areas of the pitch despite being a playmaking midfielder.
