The New England Revolution lost their season opener, 1-0, to the Colorado Rapids in Commerce City, Colorado on Saturday evening.
Dominique Badji scored the game’s lone goal, converting during a scramble in the box off a freekick in the 52nd minute.
New England didn’t get dominated by Colorado, but also didn’t look up to par with their playmaking.
The Revolution aligned in a 4-4-2 diamond formation, using Scott Caldwell as a holding midfielder and employing an attacking trio consisting of Kei Kamara, Lee Nguyen, and Juan Agudelo. Benjamin Angoua and Antonio Mlinar Delamea, who joined the club this off-season, earned their first starts in central defense and looked as though they’re still establishing a familiarity.
Angoua fouled Badji to the right of the penalty area, which led to the set piece that caused Colorado’s goal.
Dillon Powers initiated the scoring play by crossing a freekick into the box that found Kevin Doyle, who headed the ball off the post. The Revolution scrambled to track down the rebound, but were beat to it by Badji, who deposited the loose ball into the back of the net.
Nguyen left the game in the 57th minute with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Daigo Kobayashi—but was completely ineffective while he was on the field.
Revolution goalkeeper Cody Cropper—who made his second-ever league start—was otherwise impressive. He finished the game with one save, but commanded his box well and had a point-blank stop on Doyle midway through the first half.
The Revolution are now 5-12-5 in season openers.
If you want to reach Julian email him at julianccardillo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @juliancardillo
Colorado Rapids
NE Revolution
