FOXBOROUGH, MA– The New England Revolution (0-0-1, 0pts. in MLS) were victorious in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 match after defeating Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (6-3-2, 21 pts. in CRPD) 4-0 on Wednesday night.
The match kicked off at 8:00 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA to a crowd of 4,000.
Here's how we lineup tonight. #ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/ZL0ZNG52jO
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) March 6, 2024
The team started their lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with Henrich Ravas starting in net with a backline of (left back) DeJuan Jones, (center backs) Dave Romney, and Jonathan Mensah, along with (right back) Nick Lima. The midfield spots were manned by Matt Polster (defensive midfield) with Mark-Anthony Kaye (left midfield) and Ian Harkes (right midfield). The forward roles were manned by Esmir Bajraktarević (left wing), Nacho Gil (right wing), and Tomás Chancalay as the lone striker.
Midfielder Carles Gil started tonight’s match on the bench due to a hamstring strain. Midfielder Matt Polster wore the captain’s armband due to Carles Gil’s absence.
March 7, 2024; The Revolution starting XI during an Concacaf Champions Cup game between the New England Revolution and L.D. Alajuelense at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (c) Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.
The match kicked off with New England starting from the center circle. Forward Giacomo Vrioni elected to play the ball backwards to Andrew Farrell, who elected to play the ball backwards to Henrich Ravas to build out of the back.
The first moment of the match came for L.D Alajuelense in the 8th minute when #12 Joel Campbell’s left-footed volley attempt went over the crossbar.
L.D Alajuelense had yet another opportunity in the 12th minute when #5 Borges’ freekick effort was met with a diving save by goalkeeper Henrich Ravas.
March 7, 2024; Head Coach Caleb Porter walks across the pitch ahead of a Concacaf Champions Cup game between the New England Revolution and L.D. Alajuelense at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (c) Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.
In the 19th minute, L.D Alajuelense defender #27 Ian Lawrence was issued a yellow card for a harsh foul on Nacho Gil.
Another L.D Alajuelense opportunity came in the 21st minute when #12 Joel Campbell’s right-footed effort was met with a sliding block by Matt Polster.
New England’s first chance came in the 26th minute when Nick Lima’s back post cross was deflected and found Esmir Bajraktarević. He slid the ball to Ian Harkes, and his right-footed effort was met with a save by goalkeeper # Moreira.
Entering the 28th minute, New England gained the 1-0 advantage.
ONE TIME! ??
DeJuan ➡️ Nick to open the scoring in @GilletteStadium
?: @TheChampions pic.twitter.com/yGZRsgJWX4
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) March 6, 2024
Following a left-footed cross by DeJuan Jones, the ball found a wide-open Nick Lima at the back post for the one-time finish into the bottom right corner. This is Nick Lima’s first career goal for the New England Revolution.
March 7, 2024; Defender Nick Lima (12) celebrates his goal in a Concacaf Champions Cup game between the New England Revolution and L.D. Alajuelense at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (c) Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.
New England’s next chance came in the 39th minute when Nacho Gil’s left-footed effort from outside the box was met with a catch save by goalkeeper #23 Leonel Moreira.
Entering the 41st minute, New England added to their lead.
Simply Beautiful ?
?: @TheChampions pic.twitter.com/vEZPhDNIK5
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) March 6, 2024
Midfielder Nacho Gil slid the ball ahead for Tomás Chancalay, who took a one-time shot into the bottom right corner of the net past goalkeeper #23 Leonel Moreira. This is Chancalay’s 3rd goal in Concacaf Champions Cup this season.
March 7, 2024; Forward Tomas Chancalay (5) celebrates his goal in a Concacaf Champions Cup game between the New England Revolution and L.D. Alajuelense at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (c) Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.
After the 45+2 minutes, the match entered halftime with New England ahead 2-0.
HT for @TheChampions! pic.twitter.com/GT0asbUPWg
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) March 6, 2024
Entering the second half, L.D Alajuelense head coach Andrés Carevic made his first change of the match by replacing forward #33 Fernando Lesme for forward #9 Jonathan Moya.
The second half of the match kicked off with New England starting from the center circle. Forward Giacomo Vrioni elected to play the ball backwards to Andrew Farrell, who elected to play the ball backwards to Henrich Ravas to build out of the back.
Just 2 minutes into the second half, New England were given a penalty kick.
Tomás' second of the night ⏪
?: @TheChampions pic.twitter.com/2cDtr20tRs
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) March 7, 2024
Midfielder Nacho Gil drove down the left-flank of the field and passed the ball centrally to Esmir Bajraktarevic. After Esmir’s trap touch on the ball, it had bounced up onto the hand of #18 Edward Cedeño.
The ensuing penalty kick was taken by Tomás Chancalay. His right-footed shot went into the center of the goal for his 2nd goal of the match and for a 3-0 New England lead.
The goal by Chancalay is a Concacaf Champions Cup leading 4th goal of the tournament.
In the 53rd minute, L.D Alajuelense forward #9 Jonathan Moya was issued a yellow card for a harsh foul on Nacho Gil.
Entering the 55th minute, New England added to their lead once again.
When Esmir made it 4️⃣?
?: @FOXSoccer pic.twitter.com/HbE3bFL57O
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) March 7, 2024
Forward Tomás Chancalay switched the field to find winger Nacho Gil. He trapped the ball and laid it off to Nick Lima. He then took one touch to settle the ball and crossed it to a wide-open Esmir Bajraktarević for his first career first team goal for the Revolution.
March 7, 2024; Midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević (47) celebrates his goal in a Concacaf Champions Cup game between the New England Revolution and L.D. Alajuelense at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (c) Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.
Entering the 58th minute, L.D Alajuelense head coach Andrés Carevic made his second, third, and fourth change of the match by replacing midfielders #10 Aaron Suarez, #5 Celso Borges, and #12 Joel Campbell and replacing them with midfielders #11 Diego Campos, #31 Michael Barrantes and forward #8 Johan Venegas.
In the 60th minute, Rev0lution head coach Caleb Porter made his first change of the match by replacing midfielder Matt Polster with midfielder Noel Buck.
In the 66th minute, Revolution defender DeJuan Jones was issued a yellow card for a harsh foul on #9 Jonathan Moya.
In the 69th minute, Rev0lution head coach Caleb Porter made his second and third change of the match by replacing forward Tomás Chancalay and defender DeJuan Jones with forward Bobby Wood and defender Ryan Spaulding.
March 7, 2024; Goalkeeper Henrich Ravas (1) makes a save in a Concacaf Champions Cup game between the New England Revolution and L.D. Alajuelense at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (c) Adrian Heinsohn-Roe.
L.D Alajuelense’s best chance of the half came in the 78th minute when #17 Carlos Mora’s left-footed effort just outside of 6-yard box was met with a save by Henrich Ravas.
In the 81st minute, Rev0lution head coach Caleb Porter made his fourth and fifth change of the match by replacing forward Esmir Bajraktarević and defender Nick Lima for midfielder Emmanuel Boateng and defender Andrew Farrell.
Also, in the 81st minute, L.D Alajuelense head coach Andrés Carevic made his fifth change of the match by replacing midfielder #17 Carlos Mora with forward #7 Anthony Hernandez.
After the 90+2 minutes, New England held on to win the first leg 4-0.
FULL-TIME | @NERevolution takes a 4 goal advantage in the first leg. #ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/MSHz0jJWUN
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) March 7, 2024
Following the match and arrival back in Costa Rica, L.D Alajuelense have announced that head coach Andrés Carevic has been relieved of his duties as head coach.
With the result, the New England Revolution hold a commanding 4-0 advantage over L.D Alajuelense into leg #2. The Revolution will head to Alajuela, Costa Rica to play the second leg. It will take place on Thursday, March 14th at 8:00 p.m. at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto.
For MLS play, the New England Revolution (0-0-2, 0pts.) head out to Atlanta, GA as they are set to face MLS Eastern Conference side Atlanta United (0-0-1, 0 pts.) on Saturday, March 9th. The match kicks off in Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
(Editor’s Note: For more of Adrian Heinsohn-Roe’s photos, click on the link)
