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3 takeaways from the Revolution’s 1-0 Leagues Cup win over Mazatlán FC
New England ended a four-game winless streak, getting off to a positive start in the midseason tournament.
The Revolution got off to a winning start in the 2024 Leagues Cup with a 1-0 win over Liga MX side Mazatlán FC at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night.
Cambridge native Jack Panayotou scored the deciding goal, coming on as a substitute in the second half and positioning himself perfectly to tap home a goal-mouth cross from Matt Polster in the 69th minute.
The win places New England in a strong position to advance from the three-team group (which also includes fellow MLS side Nashville SC). The Revolution will now face Nashville at home on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Battling with an understrength squad yet again, Caleb Porter’s team fought well enough to get a win for the first time in any competition since July 3, ending a four-game winless run.
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Here are a few takeaways:
The team continues to be defined by who isn’t on the field, rather than the opposite.
It’s now been two weeks since any of the Revolution’s Designated Players featured in the lineup. With Tomas Chancalay out for the season with an ACL tear, Carles Gil out since late June due to leg injury, and Dylan Borrero sidelined with a hip injury, New England has been forced to completely rework its attack. Even striker Giacomo Vrioni has been kept out for the last two weeks with a calf issue.
Ironically, the injuries have created a level of continuity in the lineup — Porter named an unchanged Starting XI from last Saturday’s draw against Dallas — though it was done with makeshift components. Veterans Bobby Wood and Tommy McNamara, both of whom barely featured before June, are suddenly irreplaceable starters in the current circumstances.
The result has been a predictably altered approach, with New England struggling to create scoring opportunities. The team currently relies more on wingers and outside backs to generate chances using width rather than the skillful interior creativity of Gil.
To be able to engineer a win while missing such a panoply of attacking talent was a credit to New England’s team-wide resolve and defensive commitment.
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“Obviously, everybody knows who we have out in the attack, so it’s not surprising that it was a tight game and we had trouble creating chances and scoring,” Porter admitted after the game, “but I was real proud of the guys that they found the goal and that they got the win, and I was really pleased we got the clean sheet.”
The youth movement is in full swing.
One of the only possible silver linings to missing so many players has been the continued development of several talented youngsters in New England’s squad.
Esmir Bajraktarevic was arguably the Revolution’s most dangerous attacker throughout the night, 16-year-old Peyton Miller again excelled at left back, and Panayotou won the game by notching his first career goal for the Revolution senior team after being subbed on.
In all, the academy kids were the difference on the night, contributing to winning plays all over the field.
Miller, though he was forced to exit in the second half with what Porter described as a calf cramp, has quickly emerged as a legitimate candidate for more playing time regardless of who’s healthy. He flashed an attacking capacity on several occasions, driving forward with the ball and putting Mazatlán defenders under pressure. Even more importantly, he made multiple crucial tackles and interceptions to stymy the visitors’ attempted counterattacks (which was their primary method of attack).
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“You see there’s another game where he’s got it,” Porter said of Miller. “He’s a quality player.”
The Revolution’s unsung engine room delivers.
Amid injuries across the field, New England has counted on a select few who have remained healthy.
And beyond the simple distinction of remaining on the field, central midfielders Matt Polster and Ian Harkes have found themselves virtually welded to the starting lineup.
Harkes, perhaps the more versatile of the two, has recently featured out of his usual position, deployed as an outside attacking midfielder. This he once again did on Saturday. Though he lacks the flair of some of New England’s regular wingers, Harkes’s industry and defensive drive helped create turnovers. In the 30th minute, he even found himself in a great position following a turnover, but his shot from just outside the box was dragged wide.
Polster, despite playing one of the more physically taxing positions on the field, leads the Revolution in minutes played so far in 2024. His place in the Starting XI is assumed to the point that his performances are sometimes taken for granted.
Yet Saturday was in some ways a perfect showcase for his unsung capacity. Along with providing on-field leadership and defensive organization, Polster covered miles of ground while completing the second-most passes of anyone on either team (56). That he completed a game-high 92 percent of his passes is also indicative of his consistency and effectiveness.
It was a credit to Polster’s energy that his opportune burst into the box led to the goal, and that while Panayotou achieved a career milestone by scoring, it was New England’s man for all seasons who provided the assist.
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