Revolution begin Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with 2-1 Victory over Hartford Athletic
FOXBOROUGH, MA— The New England Revolution II were victorious versus Hartford Athletic in a 2-1 clash in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night.
The match kicked off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts to a crowd of roughly 1,000.
#NERevs going on a Tuesday!#USOC2023 pic.twitter.com/qsTMxKy582
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 25, 2023
The team started their lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with Earl Edwards Jr. starting in net with a backline of (left back) Ben Sweat, (center backs) Omar Gonzalez, and Christian Makoun, along with (right back) Joshua Bolma. The midfield consisted of Noel Buck (left midfield), Jack Panayotou (right midfield), and Esmir Bajraktarević (center attacking midfield) The attacking roles were manned by Dylan Borrero (left wing), Damian Rivera (right winger), and Justin Rennicks as the lone striker.
MLS SuperDraft pick Joshua Bolma makes his New England Revolution first-team debut tonight starting at right back.
Center-back Omar Gonzalez is wearing the captain’s armband for the first time in a New England Revolution jersey.
Fascinating age breakdown for #NERevs starting XI:
18-20: Four players
21-24: Four players
25-30: Zero players
31-34: Three playersA whole lot of youth up front with some veteran leadership in the back. https://t.co/4UxS1Of3XB
— Jeff Lemieux (@jeff_lemieux) April 25, 2023
Tonight's Starting XI #USOC2023 pic.twitter.com/LGroZVXxIA
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 25, 2023
The match began with the Revolution starting from the midfield kickoff. Forward Justin Rennicks played the ball directly back towards Christian Makoun who swiftly connected with Omar Gonzalez. He then found Joshua Bolma on the wing and began moving the ball up the field.
The first moment of the match came in the 6th minute when Hartford Athletic’s #29 Antoine Hippenot found a switching ball to #7 Prince Saydee. His left-footed effort struck the top left corner of the crossbar and back into the penalty area. The ball was then cleared up the left flank by center-back Omar Gonzalez.
In the 12th minute, the Revolution gained an early 1-0 lead.
JUSTINNNNN!! pic.twitter.com/HPy6GU8Bo4
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 25, 2023
Following a corner kick taken by Damian Rivera, the ball found an unmarked Justin Rennicks, whose header went directly past Hartford Athletic goalkeeper #1 Richard Sanchez for the early 1-0 lead.
The Revolution continued their attacking presence in the Hartford defensive third as Dylan Borrero combined with Esmir Bajraktarević with a give-and-go pass to get by multiple Hartford Athletic defenders. Borrero then played a sliding low driven ball into the area towards Justin Rennicks, but his close-range effort was saved by #1 Richard Sanchez.
Foxboro, Massachusetts: New England Revolution midfielder Joshua Bolam traps the ball in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game between the New England Revolution and Hartford Athletic at Gillette Stadium on April 25, 2023. (c) Adrian Heinsohn-Roe
6 minutes later, In the 30th minute, Hartford Athletic midfielder #8 Juan Pablo Torres entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for a harsh foul on Esmir Bajraktarević.
In the 36th minute, Hartford Athletic midfielder #11 Jeciel Cedeno entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for fouling Earl Edwards Jr. who was looking to start a Revolution counter-attack.
2 minutes later, following a through-ball, #7 Prince Saydee played a left-footed low-driven ball into the box towards #29 Antoine Hippenot. His close-range effort was saved by Earl Edwards Jr. and deflected toward Joshua Bolma. With a miscommunication, Bolma’s attempt to clear the ball struck the leg of Omar Gonzalez and went backward toward the Revolution goal. The ball struck the left post and was saved once again by Edwards Jr. The save then deflected back into the area and was blocked off the line by Joshua Bolma after a close-range effort.
Following the 38th-minute chance, there was little-to-no action in the final 7 minutes, and the match entered halftime with New England leading 1-0.
The first 45' ! pic.twitter.com/CPmI3Auia6
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 26, 2023
The second half began with Hartford Athletic starting from the midfield kickoff. The team began to string a few passes together in the midfield before playing a long through ball to no attackers, as the ball ended up in the hands of Revolution goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr.
In the 53rd minute, Hartford Athletic leveled the match.
— Hartford Athletic (@hfdathletic) April 26, 2023
Following a Revolution attacking chance, Hartford Athletic won the ball back and began a counter-attack. Hartford Athletic forward #7 Prince Saydee outsprinted Revolution defenders Ben Sweat and Christian Makoun and managed to connect an outside-the-foot travela pass to find forward #29 Antoine Hippenot at the back post for an easy finish. The goal leveled the match with Hartford and New England at one goal a piece.
Following the goal, there was back-and-forth play from both sides, but no major chances. Entering the 70th minute, Bruce Arena decided it was time to make some changes to secure a result for the Revolution.
Foxboro, Massachusetts: New England Revolution midfielder Esmir Bajraktarevic exits the field in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game between the New England Revolution and Hartford Athletic at Gillette Stadium on April 25, 2023. (c) Adrian Heinsohn-Roe
In the 71st minute four substitutions by replacing Ben Sweat, Joshua Bolma, Damian Rivera, and Esmir Bajraktarević for Emmanuel Boateng, Dave Romney, Brandon Bye, and Carles Gil.
4 minutes later, in the 76th minute, New England regained the lead.
Romney with his first goal in a #NERevs uniform pic.twitter.com/eUl0LDd8W5
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 26, 2023
Atop the Hartford Athletic penalty area, midfielder Dylan Borrero played the ball toward his left to find center-back Dave Romney in an advanced position. Romney then played a lofted left-footed cross that went past everyone to find captain Carles Gil outside the area on the right side of the field. Gil then took 3 touches, made a move, and played a left-footed inswinging ball that found Dave Romney within the 6-yard box to score his first career goal in a Revolution uniform.
9 minutes later, in the 85th minute, Revolution Head Coach Bruce Arena made his fifth and final substitution of the match by replacing midfielder Dylan Borrero for defender Andrew Farrell.
In the 87th minute, New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for dissent.
In the 92nd minute, Hartford Athletic defender #22 Robin Lepert entered the referee’s booklet with a yellow card for pulling the shirt of Carles Gil who was set to start a Revolution counter-attack.
Bing bong that's the match! pic.twitter.com/aj2x80Z62S
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) April 26, 2023
With this result, The Revolution will advance further in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. They are set to find out their next opponent in the fourth round draw (Round of 32) held on April 27th and 2:00 p.m. They are set to play their next matchup on May 8th.
The New England Revolution (6-2-1, 20 pts. +7 GD) stay home in Foxborough to face FC Cincinnati (6-2-1, 20 pts. +2 GD) in a battle for the top position in Eastern Conference. The match will be played on Saturday, April 29 at Gillette Stadium and is set to kick 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)
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