FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena says he was pleased with the quality of the goals scored in Saturday’s win over Orlando City SC.
The Revs defeated the Lions 3-1 at Gillette Stadium with some excellent finishing and neat build-up play on show, as Emmanuel Boateng, Gustavo Bou and Carles Gil wrote their names onto the scoresheet in a fine second half display.
Reflecting on the victory, Arena admitted his side took time to gain a foothold in the game, but hailed his side’s offensive threat, which extended the club’s impressive home run to 6-0-3, and kicked off the second half of the campaign on a positive note.
“It was a good win for us,” he reflected. “The first 15-20 minutes of the game weren’t good; we picked it up over the last 20 minutes of the first half.
“We had a good start to the second half with Ema’s goal. I thought we scored three really good goals.
“Orlando is a good team. When they are at full strength, they are certainly going to be a handful.
“Overall, it was a good win for us, and the three points are important as we start the second half of the season.”
With both sides missing key players through injury and international duty, one of the major talking points pre-game was the selection of Revs goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. in the absence of star shot-stopper Djordje Petrović, who is currently away representing Serbia.
Edwards Jr. played his part in helping the hosts to the win with three saves against his former club, and though Arena highlighted the need for improvement defensively with the goal conceded, he noted his goalkeeper’s display.
“He did well,” he continued. “I would have liked to see him get a clean sheet – we got a little sloppy on that play: not marking the 13 [Duncan McGuire] – but Earl did a real good job.”
There was further praise for first goalscorer Boateng for his defensive work as well as his cool finish – and the returning Noel Buck, who assisted Bou’s crucial second goal.
“[Ema was playing] maybe half-central, half-flank but he did a good job,” Arena added. “In the formation we were in, he had to be central, especially defensively. He did a good job.”
On Buck, he said: “Solid job. He’s a young player. Early in the game, he had a little bit of a tough time, but he got back into it, and he was solid.
“He missed marking the 13 for their goal, but overall, it was a really good performance by Noel.”
Arena also shared an injury update on Brandon Bye, who was replaced at halftime by Omar González, with Andrew Farrell moving into the right-back position.
“He felt a little muscle tightness so we took him out at halftime,” he explained.
“Andrew probably played as a right-back for the first eight years of his career here, so he can play there – we position him there in training every once in a while.
“Omar did a solid job as well.”
The Revolution are back on home soil next weekend, welcoming Toronto FC to Gillette Stadium on Saturday, June 24 in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff. Tickets are available now!
