FOXBOROUGH, MA— The New England Revolution II (3-0-0, 9 pts.) defeated Philadelphia Union II (0-3-0, 0 pts) in a 5-1 thriller on Monday afternoon.
The match kicked off at 1:00 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
How we’re lining up this afternoon ? pic.twitter.com/V9wUhoD87D
— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) April 10, 2023
The team started their lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with goalkeeper Nico Campuzano starting in the net with a backline of (left back) Peyton Miller, (center backs) Pierre Cayet and Victor Souza, along with (right back) Jacob Akanyirige. The midfield consisted of Jack Panayotou (left), Esmir Bajraktarevic (center), and Josh Bolma (right). The forward roles were manned by Damiam Rivera (left), Jordan Adebayo-Smith (right), and Malcolm Fry as the lone striker.
15-year-old defender Peyton Miller started in his third consecutive match with the Revolution II.
The squad today featured 4 first-team players in the starting XI as Joshua Bolma, Damien Rivera, Jack Panayotou, and Esmir Bajraktarevic started the match.
New England Revolution II starting XI versus Philadelphia Union II in a match on April 10, 2023, at Gillette Stadium. Image Courtesy of New England Revolution II
The match kicked off with New England starting from the center circle, moving the ball back toward their midfield, and moving the ball up the right side of the central part of the field.
In the 8th minute, the first moment of the match occurred when the Philadelphia Union II’s # Pierre was tripped in the penalty area by defender Jacob Akanyirige.
Referee Jose Carlos Rivera called the foul and awarded Philadelphia the penalty kick.
Moments later, Philadelphia Union II midfielder #98 Stefan Stojanovic stepped up to take the penalty kick and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner past Revolution II goalkeeper Nico Campunzano who had dove the opposite way for Philadelphia’s 1-0 early lead.
Cool, calm, collected.
Stefan Stojanovic from the spot for his first goal of the season. ?
1-0 @PhilaUnionII pic.twitter.com/qtSK9DrakO
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) April 10, 2023
In the 19th minute, New England had their first moment of the match. Following a combination play between Jordan Adebayo-Smith and Joshua Bolma, Jordan managed to find Damian Rivera inside the Philadelphia Union penalty area who swiftly found Esmir Bajraktarevic in space. His shot struck the left post and the second ball was deflected away for a corner kick.
Just 1 minute later entering the 21st minute, New England leveled the match. Midfielder Jack Panayotou swung the ball out wide to find left-back Peyton Miller. Miller then sent the ball up the left flank of the field to find Damian Rivera who managed to turn the fullback. Rivera drove toward the Philadelphia penalty area and uncorked a shot before being taken out by a sliding challenge by Philadelphia Union II defender #80 Juan Castillo. His shot went directly past goalkeeper #22 Brooks Thompson. Rivera ended up getting injured due to Castillo’s tackle and managed to remain in the match. Castillo was not booked for his challenge.
Rivera levels the match with a clean finish! ?
1-1 @NERevolution2 pic.twitter.com/Yia4pQdqLm
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) April 10, 2023
Just 7 minutes later, New England added to their lead.
Building out of the defensive third, Revolution II center-back Victor Souza swung the ball wide right to right-back Jacob Akanyirige. Jacob then trapped the ball and played a right-footed long ball that took two bounces past four different Philadelphia Union II defenders. The ball managed to find forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith who snuck in behind the Philadelphia Union II’s backline. He then took one touch and then toe-poked the ball past goalkeeper #22 Brooks Thompson for the 2-1 lead.
Jordan Adebayo-Smith flicks the ball in for his second goal of the season and puts @NERevolution2 in front! ? 2-1 pic.twitter.com/eOGjZSuaYm
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) April 10, 2023
In the 38th minute, Revolution II defender Pierre Cayet entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card following a dissent due to a challenge on Philadelphia Union II’s #39 Francis Westfield.
In the 45th minute, Revolution II midfielder Jack Panayotou gave up a freekick just outside the Revolution penalty area. Union II’s #14 Jeremy Rafanello stepped up to take the freekick and his effort went just wide of the Revolution goal.
Following the freekick effort, the match went into halftime with the New England Revolution II leading 2-1 over Philadelphia Union II.
HALFTIME:#NERevsII 2 | PHI 1
— New England Revolution II (@NERevolution2) April 10, 2023
The second half kicked off with the Union II kicking the ball backward toward their midfield sending the ball up into the Revolution II defensive third.
3 minutes into the 2nd half, the New England Revolution II continued their attacking assault on the Union.
Following a foul on Joshua Bolma, goalkeeper Nico Campuzano launched the ball up the field to find forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith. He managed to trap the ball and pass it to Esmir Bajraktarevic. He then took seven touches before taking a left-footed shot that snuck past goalkeeper #22 Brooks Thompson into the bottom right corner for the 3-1 lead.
Bajraktarevic gets through the backline for 3️⃣!
3-1 @NERevolution2 pic.twitter.com/BMV2YITmqB
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) April 10, 2023
Just 4 minutes later, the Revolution continued their attacking prowess and added to their lead once more.
Midfielder Damian Rivera’s one-time switch of the field found forward Malcolm Fry on the right side of the field. Fry took the ball down and began driving toward the Union II defense. He then cut past a defender with a step over and took a right-footed shot inside the Union II penalty area that rocketed past goalkeeper #22 Brooks Thompson for the 4-1 lead.
Golazo! ?
Malcolm Fry fires from the right side of the box for the fourth! 4-1 pic.twitter.com/YPGUtNlqYD
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) April 10, 2023
In the 62nd minute, New England Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made three changes by substituting Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Malcolm Fry, and Joshua Bolma for Weverton, Marcos Dias, and Jake Rozhansky.
In the 64th minute, Philadelphia Union II #32 Jose Riasco entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for a foul on Esmir Bajraktarevic.
In the 67th minute, Philadelphia Union II #38 Maike Villero entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for a foul on Jacob Akanyirige.
In the 71st minute, New England Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made his fourth change of the match by substituting Damian Rivera for Nakye Greenidge-Duncan.
Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith (99) celebrates his goal earlier in the match versus Philadelphia Union II. Image Courtesy of New England Revolution II.
In the 81st minute, New England Revolution II midfielder Jack Panayotou entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for time wasting.
In the 83rd minute, Union II’s Jeremy Rafanello played a through ball to find Nelson Pierre who scored past Nico Campuzano, but the ball ended up being called for offsides.
Following the offside call, New England Revolution II Head Coach Clint Peay made his fifth and final change of the match by substituting Jack Panayotou for Brandonn Bueno.
Midfielder Damian Rivera (72) looks to make a pass during a match versus Philadelphia Union II. Image Courtesy of New England Revolution II.
In the 89th minute, the Revolution added to their lead once more.
Revolution II midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic drove toward the Union II penalty area and slotted the ball across the box to find forward Marcos Dias. He then played a pass into a dangerous area toward midfielder Brandonn Bueno who was hit by a high shoulder by #80 Juan Castillo. The referee pointed to the spot and a penalty kick was awarded. Castillo was not booked for the foul.
Following the penalty kick call, midfielder Brandonn Bueno stepped up and slotted it into the bottom right corner past goalkeeper #22 Brooks Thompson who dove the opposing way for the 5-1 lead.
Bueno converts from the spot for ?️!
5-1 @NERevolution2 pic.twitter.com/9SdYoUV0LA
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) April 10, 2023
After the 2 added minutes onto the 90, the New England Revolution II ended the match with a 5-1 victory versus the Philadelphia Union II.
5⃣ goals
5⃣ goal scorers@NERevolution2 continue their dream start of the season with a third-straight victory. pic.twitter.com/Jr8rxdr6ou— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) April 10, 2023
The New England Revolution II finished the match with 54% possession, 16 shots (9 on target), 462 total passes (86.2% accuracy), 8 crosses, 5 corners, and 1 offside. Defensively the squad had 46 duels won, 7 tackles won, 3 saves, 20 clearances, 10 fouls, and 2 yellow cards.
With the victory, the New England Revolution II move to 3-0-0 on the year with a +6 goal differential. This victory moves the squad to first place in the Eastern Conference and first place in MLS NEXT Pro.
For Revolution II fans, the team’s general admission tickets go on sale on Friday, March 24th beginning at $10 per match or $98 for a full-season plan including all 14 home games. Revolution Season Members have access to discounted Revolution II tickets. Fans can visit Revolutionsoccer.net/tickets for more information.
The New England Revolution II (3-0-0, 9pts.) will look to continue their hot start in their 2023 MLS NEXT Pro campaign as the squad heads out to Columbus to face Columbus Crew II (1-0-1, 4pts) on Sunday, April 16th at Historic Crew Stadium at 1:00 p.m. All MLS, MLS NEXT Pro matches will be available through the new MLS Streaming Service on the Apple TV app.
New England Revolution
