Both the Revolution and Red Bull New York came into the new season with the hope of change, having brought in new coaches and philosophies after missing last season’s playoffs. One already is seeing that turn into positive results.
It isn’t New England. Though a 1-0 loss at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., represented significant progress from last weekend’s thrashing at Nashville, the Revolution still lack finishing skill and are winless through two Major League Soccer matches for the third straight season.
Teenager Julian Hall scored Saturday’s goal, heading past New England’s Matt Turner in the 53d minute for his third in two matches for New York (2-0-0, 6 points). The Red Bulls held a nearly two-to-one possession advantage, but were limited to 11 shots by a Revolution back line with Brayan Ceballos and Mamadou Fofana, each of whom missed the opener.
The hosts forced just three saves Saturday from Turner. That was largely due to Ceballos, Will Sands, and Fofana — who received his green card during the week — regularly running down loose balls and snuffing out what could have been quality chances.
Ethan Horvath needed just two saves, however, to shut out the Revolution, who were without last week’s goal scorer, Leo Campana. The high-priced striker who missed nine matches across three different injury stretches last season was out with a lower-body issue. That left Dor Turgeman as the team’s lone striker, with New England’s inability to turn its rare periods of pressure into scoring chances all too familiar.
Its best chance of the afternoon had a Keystone Kops ending. A back and forth between Ilay Feingold and Carles Gil sprung the Israeli international up the right side in the 68th minute, with Turgeman, substitute Jackson Yueill, and Griffin Yow racing goalward to his left. Feingold’s pass toward the penalty spot was behind Turgeman, and neither Yueill nor Yow saw the other, the two connecting with each other as much as the ball, which New York’s Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty headed off the line.
“We showed today much more personality and much more intensity, and we fought,” coach Marko Mitrovic said. “We had situations in the second half where we were running with four or five guys in the box against one or two [opposing] players, and we just didn’t execute those things.”
The chance came during a flurry of activity following Hall’s winner. The Red Bulls’ goal came off a short corner, a cross from 17-year-old Matthew Dos Santos headed on by Adri Mehmeti (16) and into the ground by Hall (17), across Turner and into the far corner. The trio made history for the second straight week; the Red Bulls are the only MLS team to start three players age 17 or younger in the same game.
Mitrovic stressed the positive of his team holding together and continuing to fight after falling behind.
“I would say the togetherness and intensity was present throughout the whole game, and that’s our foundation,” he said. “Listen, we speak about four moments of the game and then set pieces. We conceded on a set piece. So, we have to be strong and solid, as we were today, when we defend. We can still improve our game with the ball, and have, in certain moments, more calmness to play.
“I understand what position we are in as a team and that it’s going to take us some time to have that strong belief that we can be with the ball as good as we want to be.”
New England is off next weekend, its home opener postponed due to snow delaying the installation of Gillette Stadium’s grass surface. The Revolution instead hope to open their Foxborough slate on Sunday, March 15, against FC Cincinnati.
