FOXBOROUGH, MA– The New England Revolution (6-1-1, 20 pts.) were victorious in a 2-1 victory on Saturday night in a match versus Sporting Kansas City (0-6-3, 3 pts.)
The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA to a crowd of 19,281.
♻️ End Plastic Waste ♻️ pic.twitter.com/2wIDG1H1r4
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 22, 2023
The team started their lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with Đorđe Petrović starting in net with a backline of (left back) Christian Makoun, (center backs) Dave Romney, and Andrew Farrell, along with (right back) Brandon Bye. The midfield consisted of Matt Polster (left midfield), Noel Buck (right midfield), and captain Carles Gil (center attacking midfield) The attacking roles were manned by Emmanuel Boateng (left wing), Esmir Bajraktarević (right winger), and Giacomo Vrioni as the lone striker.
On the injury front, forwards Gustavo Bou and Bobby Wood miss their second consecutive games due to injuries that they picked up in training.
Defender Henry Kessler will remain out of the squad after successfully undergoing surgery to repair his right hamstring injury.
Defender DeJuan Jones and Forward Jozy Altidore have been left off the 18-man roster after sustaining injuries in training on Thursday.
Midfielder Dylan Borrero misses today’s match with a suspension after receiving a red card in last week’s match versus Columbus Crew
Midfielder Latif Blessing missed today’s match as he was granted permission from the team to return to his native Ghana to bring his family to the United States as their visas were approved. He will return next week.
▪️ Borrero suspended (red card)
▪️ Kessler out 4 months (hamstring surgery)
▪️ Bou (leg), Wood (foot) miss 2nd straight game
▪️ Jones, Altidore out w/ injuries picked up in training
▪️ McNamara, N. Gil, Maciel, Jackson all remain out#NERevs https://t.co/z3LCwzQeIy— Jeff Lemieux (@jeff_lemieux) April 22, 2023
The match began with the Revolution starting with the midfield kickoff. Giacomo Vrioni took the midfield kick and sent it straight back to Matt Polster who then connected with Andrew Farrell, who then began to move the ball up the right side of the field with Brandon Bye.
The first moment of the match came in the 2nd minute when Sporting Kansas City forward #9 Alan Pulido drove into space on the right flank of the field. He connected with #26 Erik Thommy atop the box who then played it left to #20 Dániel Sallói. His one-time right-footed effort deflected off of Brandon Bye and was then saved by Đorđe Petrović.
The Revolution’s first moment of the match came in the 7th minute when Emmanuel Boateng’s left-footed delivery into the box found Giacomo Vrioni, but his close-range effort was swooped up by Sporting goalkeeper #29 Tim Melia.
In the 20th minute, Sporting Kansas City defender #3 Andreu Fontàs entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for a simulation.
10 minutes later in the 30th minute, the Revolution took the early 1-0 lead.
THERE’S HIS FIRST GOAL OF THE NIGHT pic.twitter.com/BehQNQa7r3
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 23, 2023
Captain midfielder Carles Gil played a through ball down the line to winger Emmanuel Boateng. He then took 4 touches in space and then played a left-footed ball to find forward Giacomo Vrioni alone atop the 6-yard box. His right-footed effort deflected off of Sporting Kansas City defender #5 Dany Rosero and into his own net for the 1-0 lead.
Less than 3 minutes later, New England doubled their lead.
Mamma Mia, here we go again! ? pic.twitter.com/hwH4GonzkX
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 23, 2023
Captain Midfielder Carles Gil found Emmanuel Boateng on the left flank once again. His left-footed cross found Vrioni who laid it for Carles Gil. He then took 3 touches and took a right-footed shot that was saved by goalkeeper #29 Tim Melia. The ball then bounced back toward Giacomo Vrioni who slotted the ball in the bottom left corner to take the 2-0 lead. Giacomo’s second goal of the match.
With little-to-no action, the Revolution entered halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Can't stop, won't stop.#NERevs | @SantanderBankUS pic.twitter.com/hc5lrJAOVi
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 23, 2023
The second half started with Sporting Kansas City from the midfielder kickoff. #9 Alan Pulido took the kickoff and sent it to midfielder #54 Remi Walter who played it out to the left flank and back toward the Sporting Kansas City backline.
5 minutes into the 2nd half, Sporting Kansas City pulled one back.
Dániel Sallói on a platter for Johnny Russell. ?️#SportingKC are back in it. pic.twitter.com/0fcu78VNSJ
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 23, 2023
Following a foul by Esmir Bajraktarevic, Sporting Kansas City midfielder #20 Dániel Sallói took the freekick on the left flank of the field and played a beautifully lofted ball to the back post to find captain forward #7 Johhny Russell. He managed to break away from defender Brandon Bye to easily slot it away past Petrović.
6 minutes later, disaster struck for Sporting Kansas City.
Foxboro, Massachusetts: Sporting Kansas City defender Andreu Fontàs (3) receives the red card in a MLS game between the New England Revolution and Sporting KC at Gillette Stadium on April 22, 2023. (c) Burt Granofsky
In the 56th minute, Sporting Kansas City defender #3 Andreu Fontàs entered the referee’s booklet for his second yellow card for a last-man foul on forward Giacomo Vrioni. After a 4-minute Video Review, the referee rescinded the yellow card and changed it to a straight red card. Sporting Kansas City played the final 40 minutes with 10 men.
The ensuing 60th minute freekick by Carles Gil was a set play. The ball was played atop of the box which was left by midfielder Emmanuel Boateng and found forward Esmir Bajraktarevic for a one time left-footed effort. The shot was easily saved by Sporting Kansas City #29 Tim Melia
Foxboro, Massachusetts: Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia (29) makes the save in a MLS game between the New England Revolution and Sporting KC at Gillette Stadium on April 22, 2023. (c) Burt Granofsky
In the 64th minute, Revolution Head Coach Bruce Arena made his first substitution of the match by replacing forward Esmir Bajraktarevic for forward Justin Rennicks.
In the 72nd minute, The Revolution continued their attacking threat as Captain Carles Gil drove up the field. He found Justin Rennicks to his left. He took a left-footed trap touch and then took a right-footed shot that was saved by #29 Tim Melia. The ball then popped out to Giacomo Vrioni and #29 Melia was called once more to make a point blank save.
Eight minutes later, following a misplaced pass by Sporting Kansas City defender #5 Dany Rosero was met by a sliding Carles Gil whose effort on target was blocked by #29 Melia. The ball then popped out once more to Giacomo Vrioni, and his close-range effort went wide for a goal kick.
Foxboro, Massachusetts: New England Revolution defender Ben Sweat (44) drives the ball forward in a MLS game between the New England Revolution and Sporting KC at Gillette Stadium on April 22, 2023. (c) Burt Granofsky
In the 74th minute, Revolution Head Coach Bruce Arena made his second and third substitution of the match by replacing forward Emmanuel Boateng for forward Damian Rivera and replacing defender Christian Makoun for defender Ben Sweat. This is Ben Sweat’s New England Revolution debut.
In the 89th minute, Sporting Kansas City defender #4 Robert Voloder entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for a harsh foul on Matt Polster.
In the 90th minute, Sporting had their best chance to level the match. Following a pass, #21 Felipe Hernandez took a right-footed shot that was saved by Petrović and then struck the woodwork. The ball was cleared to midfield.
In the 95th minute, Revolution Head Coach Bruce Arena made his fourth and final substitution of the match by replacing forward Giacomo Vrioni Boateng for midfielder Jack Panayotou.
Following the 90 minutes and 8 minutes of added time, the Revolution held on for the 2-1 victory.
#NERevs stay atop the East. pic.twitter.com/aUVYosSP5x
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 23, 2023
This victory versus Sporting Kansas City moves the New England Revolution into T-1st place in the Eastern Conference and 1st place in the Supporter’s Shield race on goal differential.
In regard to historic marks, Revolution forward Justin Rennicks surpassed the 1,000-minute mark in his MLS career.
The New England Revolution (6-2-1, 20 pts.) stay home in Foxborough to face Hartford Athletic (1-2-3, 5 pts. in USL Championship) at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday, April 25 in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Match. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
(Editor’s Note: For more of Burt Granofsky’s photos, click on the link)
New England Revolution
Sporting Kansas City
