New England Revolution

3 takeaways from the Revolution’s 1-0 win over New York Red Bulls

Emmanuel Boateng's second half volley provided the difference in a tightly-contested game against New York.

By Hayden Bird

June 8, 2024

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The Revolution notched a 1-0 win over New York Red Bulls at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night. It marks New England’s second victory in as many weeks, though it’s still not quite enough to lift the team out of last place in the Eastern Conference.

The difference in the game came via substitute Emmanuel Boateng’s well-struck volley off a Carles Gil cross in the 81st minute:

Here are a few takeaways from another positive result for Caleb Porter’s team:

Revolution were able to grind out a win against a physical opponent.

The defining quality of Red Bulls’ style over the past several years has been a consistent commitment to a hard-charging, vertical approach to the game. New York’s physicality is an inherent trait given the defensive strategy of pressing the opponent.

This was especially true in a week in which New York was missing several key players, including attacking midfielder Emil Forsberg (away with national team duties). The replacements that Red Bulls added to the starting lineup seem to be even more committed to an aggressive style.

The Revolution were also missing players to international games, with Ian Harkes sliding into a less familiar role as a right midfielder due to Esmir Bajraktarevic’s initial inclusion in the United States Men’s Olympic Team roster.

Whether because of that or as a combination of a few other factors, both teams looked slightly disjointed for much of the night. New England made several unforced errors (turning the ball over in the Revolution half on multiple occasions), while New York posed little threat going forward. Of the Red Bulls’ 15 attempts/shots, only four came inside the box.

Amid a choppy game, New England was able to control 59 percent of the possession, and created the better chances of the two teams.

Carles Gil unsurprisingly found himself at the center of most of the Revolution’s best moves. The New England captain led the game with seven “chances created” (an admittedly imperfect stat that nonetheless underscores Gil’s importance as a facilitator).

His clever pass to put forward Giacomo Vrioni in on goal in the 31st minute should have given the Revolution an earlier lead, but the Italian-Albanian continues to struggle in front of net. His shot wasn’t bad — and was placed toward the far post — but Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara made a strong save.

Gil was again centrally involved when Boateng produced the go-ahead goal. Both players found space on the flanks, and each provided the necessary quality to convert the opportunity into a goal.

It was another solid defensive performance.

Given the scoreline, it’s obvious that Porter would be pleased with the defensive effort his team made, yet it marks the second week in a row that New England was able to hold out with a one-goal lead when put under pressure.

New York frantically tried to find a late equalizer, but New England was able to do just enough to preserve the clean sheet. More than that, the Revolution defense held the Red Bulls to very few legitimate chances on goal (as noted earlier, many of the visitors shots were taken from distance).

Center-backs Xavier Arreaga and Dave Romney (making his second straight start after returning from a prolonged period on the bench) deserve particular credit.

Romney added defensive solidity while completing a game-high 68 passes. Arreaga also provided quality positioning and marking, while being calm in possession.

Case in point: Arreaga stepped forward and played a perfectly-weighted through ball down the right wing to Gil prior to the goal. His ability to play quality passes from the center back position adds a crucial difference against teams like New York that often squeeze space in the midfield.

Has New England turned a corner?

With two wins in a row, the Revolution have now doubled the 2024 MLS season win total in the last two games. It’s certainly too early to definitively say that Porter’s team has turned around what was a truly miserable start to the season.

Yet it remains encouraging to see New England carve out a result in a game where the margins were so tight. It felt like a game that would’ve been, at best, a draw earlier in the year.

Now, as the Revolution continue to acclimate to Porter’s system, players have started to look more comfortable and confident moving the ball (though, given the plethora of misplaced passes throughout the night, things are clearly still a work in progress).

The return of winger Dylan Borrero has also added a critical component.

Borrero’s dynamism on the wing, coupled with his growing capacity to drift inside and connect passes with Gil, provide both an outlet when New England is under pressure, and a dangerous avenue for attacks.

However, given that both wins were somewhat tightly contested one-goal differences, the progress still feels tenuous. One bad result might threaten to reopen all of the serious questions that beset New England as recently as two weeks ago.

Yet if New England can continue to build on the results — the Revolution currently have two games in hand on 14th place Chicago — there’s no reason Porter’s team can’t climb out of the bottom of the conference. Whether or not they can charge all the way back into playoff contention still feels a little distant.