New England Revolution
Having produced several recent comebacks, New England ran out of magic tricks against the top team in the Eastern Conference.
Will Sands during the Revolution’s loss against Nashville. Via New England Revolution
The Revolution’s seven-game unbeaten run ended with a thud in a 3-0 loss to Nashville SC at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday night.
Two goals from Bryan Acosta and one from Warren Madrigal were more than enough for the Eastern Conference first-place visitors to hold off second-place New England.
Here are a few takeaways:
A flat first half
The Revolution were without winger Luca Langoni (out with a lower body injury), and brought midfielder Matt Polster back into the lineup (with Alhassan Yusuf shifting to left wing).
Nashville were without multiple starters (including striker Sam Surridge), but fielded most of their regular attack. It was largely the same group that picked apart New England in the season-opener in a 4-1 win.
Seeking revenge, New England tried to work the same formula that had been largely working over the previous seven league games: A patient, possession-based approach intermixed with periodic pressing.
But as had been the case in the February matchup, the Revolution were unable to get create any consistent chances.
The self-inflicted mistakes were punctuated by goalkeeper Matt Turner’s gift to Madrigal in the 41st minute — scuffing his attempted clearance and leaving the ball for the Nashville forward to collect unopposed in front of goal — which led to the away side doubling its first half lead.
No comeback this time
Unlike three of the Revolution’s previous five games, there was no second half rally. Instead, New England continued what had been a trend in the first half. Despite periods of quality possession and movement, it led to little in the way of goal-scoring chances.
Nashville were effective in blunting the New England attack for most of the night, particularly the usually reliable service of Revolution captain Carles Gil.
Without Langoni (and amid the ongoing injury absence of forward Leo Campana), New England head coach Marko Mitrovic had limited options available on his bench to change the game. And by the time subs were made in earnest, the scoreline had worsened to 3-0.
Looking ahead
The Revolution’s busy stretch continues with another home matchup on Saturday. New England will host Minnesota United in one more tough test.
With the unbeaten run over (New England slipped to third in the Eastern Conference), the Revolution can now take a more measured assessment of the current approach. Should the lineup be reconfigured?
Squad rotation will be likely in the short term in any case, given the fixture congestion. And with the World Cup break rapidly approaching, it will also soon be a time to question what (if any) potential summer moves need to be made in the transfer market. New England could be in the running to add another attacking player.
Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.
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