FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 23, 2021
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POSTGAME NOTES: Revolution Top New York Red Bulls, 3-2, for Fifth Straight Win Gil registers career-high three assists as New England sets club record for best start to a season at home
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (7-1-2; 23 pts.) extended their winning streak to five games with a 3-2 triumph over the New York Red Bulls (4-5-0, 12 pts.) at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday night. Captain Carles Gil assisted all three of the Revolution’s goals, scored by Tajon Buchanan in the 26th minute, DeJuan Jones in the 32nd minute, and Gustavo Bou in the 51st minute. New York’s Patryk Klimala pulled one back for the visitors in the 53rd minute – marking the first goal New England has conceded from open play at home this season – with Andres Reyes adding New York’s second goal in the 75th minute.
New England now owns a league-high seven wins on the season, as 23 points represents the Revs’ best 10-game start in club history, surpassing 2005 (22 points). The team’s five-game winning streak is its longest since winning six straight in July and August 2015. The Revs will look to match that mark in Sunday night’s upcoming match at FC Dallas (9:00 p.m. ET, TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, WBIX 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA). The Revolution’s perfect 5-0-0 start in Foxborough is the club’s best-ever home start through five games, beating the previous record of 4-0-1 set in 2014 and 2005. New England is the only MLS side still perfect at home this season.
Gil’s three-assist outburst, a new single-game high for the Spaniard, gives him 10 helpers through 10 games this season – twice the total of any other player. Appearing in his 50th match with the Revolution, Gil now owns four multi-assist games and also registered a game-high six chances created. Buchanan’s goal was his second of the year, while Jones opened his 2021 account. Bou’s fourth goal of the season, and his first game winner, moves him into a tie with Adam Buksa for the team lead. He has scored in each of his last three appearances, the longest goal-scoring streak of his MLS career.
In net, goalkeeper Matt Turner made four saves and picked up his seventh win of the season, most among goalkeepers.
New England hits the road this weekend for the team’s third game in nine days on Sunday, June 27 at FC Dallas. The contest kicks off at 9:00 p.m. ET on TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and in Portuguese on WBIX 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.
POSTGAME NOTES New England Revolution 3, New York Red Bulls 2 June 23, 2021 – Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
• The New England Revolution (7-1-2, 23 pts.) defeated the New York Red Bulls (4-5-0, 12 pts.), 3- 2, on Wednesday night to remain in first place in the Eastern Conference. • New England extended its winning streak to five games, the club’s longest since a six-game streak in 2015. • With 23 points through 10 games, the Revs are off to the club’s best ever start through 10 matches, beating the 22 points accrued to start the 2005 season. • The Revolution have now recorded three goals in back-to-back contests for the first time since July 22 and July 29, 2017. • The Revolution’s seven wins are currently most in MLS, one ahead of Seattle Sounders FC (6), which is yet to play in Week 9. • Bruce Arena picked up his 225th regular season win in MLS as his career winning percentage now stands at .600 (225-132-107). His record with New England improves to 23-11-18. • Midfielder and captain Carles Gil recorded two assists in the first half – his second straight game with multiple assists and the fourth of his MLS career. He is the first Revolution player to record three assists in a match since Sept. 2, 2017. • Gil now has 10 assists through 10 games, more than double the second-place total of five. He also added six key passes on the night, moving his MLS-leading total for the season to 52 – nearly double the second-place total of 27. • Gil won nine duels on the night, his second-most this season and fourth-most in his MLS career. The Spanish midfielder added 10 recoveries, tied for the team-high on the night. • New England’s three Designated Players – Gustavo Bou, Adam Buksa and Carles Gil – have now factored into 15 of the Revolution’s 17 goals scored this season. Bou and Buksa are tied for the team lead in goals with four. • Patryk Klimala’s 53rd-minute goal for New York marked the first time an opponent has scored from open play at Gillette Stadium this season and snapped a streak of 428 minutes in regular season play dating back to November 1, 2020. • Tajon Buchanan returned to the starting lineup for the first time since winning four caps with the Canada Men’s National Team in Concacaf World Cup Qualifying. Buchanan marked the occasion with his second goal of the season and second in as many games against the Red Bulls this season. • Buchanan added six recoveries, three tackles, two clearances, and an interception. • Defender DeJuan Jones scored his first goal of the season in the first half of Wednesday’s contest. The goal was Jones’ second of his career and first since April 27, 2019. Jones also recorded team- highs in possessions gained (10) and interceptions (4). • Gustavo Bou made his 40th regular season appearance for New England, scoring his fourth goal of the season to tie Adam Buksa for the team lead. The Argentinian forward now owns four goals and one assist in four career games played against New York. • Bou’s three-game scoring streak is the longest of his MLS career. • Henry Kessler registered his 30th MLS appearance and 25th start tonight. Kessler had a team-high five clearances and added three recoveries, two tackles, one interception, and one blocked shot defensively. • Andrew Farrell moves within one game of 250 regular season appearances for his career, all with New England. • Matt Turner picked up his MLS-leading seventh win of the season, recording four saves on the night. • Teal Bunbury returned to the Starting XI for the first time since May 16. With tonight’s start, Bunbury is now two appearances shy of 300 for his MLS career. Bunbury finished the night with a shot on target, 81 percent of his passes completed, five recoveries, and two clearances in a 70- minute shift. • Midfielder Tommy McNamara started his second consecutive match, playing 90 minutes and finishing with eight duels won, a team-high five tackles, three recoveries, two clearances, and one interception. • The Revolution’s Starting XI featured three changes from the club’s most recent match, a 3-2 win at New York City FC last Saturday. Henry Kessler, Tajon Buchanan, and Teal Bunbury start in place of Jon Bell, Maciel, and Arnór Traustason.
GAME CAPSULE REFEREE: Robert Sibiga; Assistant Referees: Jeffrey Swartzel (AR1); Art Arustamyan (AR2); 4th: Elijio Arreguin; Video Assistant Referee: Younes Marrakchi; Weather: 70 degrees and clear
Scoring Summary: NE – Tajon Buchanan 2 (Carles Gil 8) 26’ NE – DeJuan Jones 1 (Carles Gil 9) 33’ NE – Gustavo Bou 4 (Carles Gil 10) 51’ NY – Patryk Klimala 1 (Fabio 5, John Tolkin 1) 53’ NY – Andres Reyes 2 (Unassisted) 75’
Misconduct Summary: NY – Kyle Duncan (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 29’ NY – Matt Polster (Yellow Card – Bad Foul) 35’
New England Revolution: Matt Turner; DeJuan Jones, Andrew Farrell, Henry Kessler, Brandon Bye; Tommy McNamara, Matt Polster (Maciel 46’); Tajon Buchanan (Scott Caldwell 87’), Carles Gil ©, Teal Bunbury (Arnór Traustason 70’); Gustavo Bou (Adam Buksa 81’).
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jon Bell, A.J. DeLaGarza, Emmanuel Boateng, Edward Kizza.
New York Red Bulls: Carlos Coronel; Kyle Duncan, Andres Reyes, Sean Nealis, John Tolkin (Jason Pendant 81’); Sean Davis ©, Thomas Edwards, Frankie Amaya (Wikelman Carmona 53’) , Dru Yearwood (Tom Barlow 66’); Fabio, Patryk Klimala.
Substitutes Not Used: Ryan Meara, Omir Fernandez, Amro Tarek.
New England Revolution Team Statistics New York Red Bulls 10 (6) Shots (on Target) 21 (6) 2 Blocked Shots 4 4 Saves 4 2 Corner Kicks 6 1 Offsides 1 10 Fouls 14 405 (72.1%) Passes Attempted (% Completed) 410 (75.4%) 49.7% Possession 50.3%
POSTGAME QUOTES: New England Revolution 3 at New York Red Bulls 2
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New England Revolution Sporting Director & Head Coach Bruce Arena
On the takeaways from today’s match: Arena: “It’s great to get three points, but we made a mess out of that game. At 3-0, we should’ve been positioned comfortably to get our three points and get our team ready for the next game. As I said, we made a mess out of it. Give the Red Bulls credit. They never quit fighting for 90-plus minutes, as they typically do. Give our opponent credit. As I said, we made a few mistakes that got them back in the game, but we’re happy in the end to have the three points.”
On the second half and if it was a lack of concentration: Arena: “It’s not a lack of concentration. Just guys not making plays. I think the first goal they score, and I’d have to look at it maybe, [Henry] Kessler gets caught. Second goal, we should easily clear that ball on the corner kick. So, you know, it’s not lack of concentration. It’s a lack of execution.”
On why Matt Polster was subbed off at halftime: Arena: “He had a yellow card. We’re not going to take any chances and get stuck playing with 10 players. It made sense to me to get him out at halftime.”
On Tajon Buchanan’s performance: Arena: “Good. He got tired. He hasn’t played a whole lot over the last month. I know people always make these wonderful summations of guys when they play with national teams. But if you go away and you don’t play a whole lot, it impacts your fitness and sharpness. And we saw a little bit of that tonight, but I thought overall, he did a good job. We knew he was going to tire and perhaps we should’ve taken him out of the game a little bit earlier.”
On Gustavo Bou’s performance and the importance of the timing of his goal tonight: Arena: “Important, yeah. And a great goal on his part, for that third goal. He’s done really well. We’re asking him to play a little bit out of, which for him is a natural position, maybe as a guy that plays between the lines and we’re asking him to play as a number nine and he’s doing a good job. A heck of a goal and he had a couple of decent chances today.”
On Carles Gil’s performance and the fact that he is on pace to break the all-time MLS regular season assists record: Arena: “We’re in game ten. Let’s worry about that in September and October. I don’t even know what the record is and all of that. Carles [Gil] is doing very well and whatever lies ahead, lies ahead. With all due respect, I don’t even know what you’re talking about, in terms of the assist record. But he’s certainly a very good player and again, had a good game today.”
On if they’ll continue to rotating the lineup until an opposing team can figure them out: Arena: “I think we’re figured out. It’s not like we’re a mystery. We will continue to move around with our lineup a little bit. Again, I could be mistaken by this, I think over the last five games, we’ve rotated three players each game. And that obviously impacted a little bit with that relationship you discussed. What we’re doing in the next game, I don’t know. We’re not riding anything. We’re going to regroup our team tomorrow and get prepared to play Dallas.”
On the value of being able to grind out tough games and still walk away with three points: Arena: “We’re 5-0 at home. I don’t know if we could’ve come close to winning five games at home last year. So, that’s a real positive. There’s no question about it. It’s a real positive. We have one of the better records in the league over the first 10 games. We’re doing fine. We’re realistic in understanding that we’re about 30 percent into the season. There’s a lot of games ahead. We have to get better, but we’re pleased with the progress we’re making. But certainly, as you can see today, there are mistakes being made that we’ve got to get a little bit better, for sure.”
On if defending set pieces is the number one defensive issue for the team right now: Arena: “It would appear that way. We did so well on a bunch of them today. The second goal they scored off a corner kick, was just some simple mistakes that are very correctable and we’ll keep working on it. Certainly, it’s an area we can be better.”
Revolution Midfielder Carles Gil [Translated from Spanish]
On a strong first half and a drop off in the second half: Gil: “We understood the game, we know they're a team that presses, they don't let you breathe. You have to be fast, sometimes you have two players on top of you. But we played well we scored two goals in the first half and it was a hard half and we had to play, in my opinion, a little more calmly in the second half. We sort of struggled a little bit there in the second half, we don't like that, but what's most important is that we got three points and we did that.”
On New York’s physical style and its effect on the game: Gil: “Yeah, I think we know them well. In my case, I have to play fast. I can't hold on to the ball too long, I just have to have a few touches. If you hold the ball too long, they pressure you. We tried to take advantage of those spaces there in other areas of the field and that's one of the things that we did to get the win.”
On the effect the home fans had on motivating the team: Gil: “Yeah, honestly we felt the fans a lot. We are happy to be with them this year. They're a plus for us at home and they helped us win at home and that's important. We felt them with us towards the end. Towards the end of the game in those final minutes, we struggled a little bit, but they helped us get the win.”
On finding spaces to create the first two goals: Gil: “Well like I said, we tried to play fast. Less touches and not holding on to the ball so much, I think that's how we got the three goals tonight. They were all fast-paced plays. We were able to score three goals and we had a few more opportunities to score so we're pretty pleased with that.”
On being on pace to break the MLS single season assist record: Gil: “I think from the start of my time here, I have gained great chemistry and I understand my teammates very well. For me, it's easy to play with these guys because they're fast and they play well in space. The guys up top, like Tajon [Buchanan] and Gustavo [Bou] they finish well. Hopefully together we can continue to score more goals.”
On the biggest difference between last year and this year in terms of creativity and cohesiveness: Gil: “Well I think at the end, we’ve played more games together and the team is improving. Ever since Bruce got here, we've become a much better and better team. We have better chemistry together, we all know one another's qualities, and we try to create chances to score goals.”
Revolution Defender DeJuan Jones
On scoring his first goal of the season: Jones: “I always think my goal is coming [laughs], but it’s my birthday tomorrow so I figured this would be a good time to score one to help the team get a victory.”
On the play that led up his goal, and playing alongside Carles Gil: Jones: “I think a ball came out to and the defender ran right into me, but I just stayed with the play and the ball went to Carles [Gil]. I saw a gap between the center back and the outside back so I ran into the gap, Carles played a great one-touch through ball, and I saw the defender was really coming in hot so I just cut it and then saw the goalie cheating on the far post, so I went near post. Carles is a joy to play with. He can always find the pass. Even when you don’t think he sees you, he sees you. Gets the ball right to your foot or into space, or whatever you need.”
On starting 5-0-0 at home this season: Jones: “It’s great. We’re happy to have the fans back. They give us a lot of energy, and like you said, it’s a great home-field advantage this year. Last year, we didn’t take advantage of it. To know that we go into these games expecting to win with the fans behind our back, it’s a great feeling and we’re going to carry this momentum forward.”
On he and Brandon Bye recording the most touches on the team behind Carles Gil: Jones: “I think that’s just how it is against Red Bull. They don’t really have wingers, so the outside backs have a lot of time and space. A lot of their players are inside in the middle, so we’re just using the open guys.”
On if he and Brandon Bye get enough credit for linking up with Carles Gil: Jones: “I don’t think we’re looking for the credit there. Right now, our job is just to keep clean sheets and defend and get the win. If we can keep getting the ball to Carles and he can keep making plays, we’re happy with that.”
On if he thinks Carles Gil can break the MLS single-season assist record: Jones: “I definitely think he can get that record. I’m not sure what it is, but another three assists tonight – I’m sure he’s on his way. I think it’s just his vision and his patience. He’s so composed on the ball. When he’s sizing a guy up you think he’s just focused on the one-on-one, but he’s surveying the field and he’s ready to deliver the pass, the killer pass. We’re lucky to have him on our team.”
On conceding two goals to New York in the second half but ultimately maintaining the lead: Jones: “I think in years’ past, we tie this game or lose this game. So, it’s progress, but we still need to close out games better. Second half, after the third goal, I think we just took our foot off the gas and let them take the game to us. We’re going to watch film tomorrow and get ready for Sunday. But when we have leads like this, we got to see the game out and try to our best to keep a clean sheet.”
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