FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – While the New England Revolution’s 2-2 draw with New York City FC left the Revs ruing a series of missed chances, winger Cristian Penilla provided a major bright spot with a sparkling performance at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. The newcomer was energetic for his entire 77-minute showing, and helped the Revs put a blemish on NYCFC’s perfect start to the season.
“It’s not easy to be brave [when pressing] and stay high right on the halfway line for fear that maybe the ball could get knocked right over the top, and [NYCFC] possess players with a lot of pace,” said head coach Brad Friedel. “I thought Cristian and everyone else worked tirelessly up there. Diego Fagundez, Teal Bunbury, Juan [Agudelo], Kelyn [Rowe], Cristian – they all worked incredibly hard and its not easy work to do, but it created a lot of chances for us.”
Penilla played a vital role in helping the Revs take an early lead, combining with Scott Caldwell to force the turnover that created the gap for Fagundez to fire home from distance in the 11th minute.
“In the first 45 (minutes), I think our team, we knew we that we need to put work and I think you saw from everybody we were putting in the work and we were getting our chances,” said Fagundez.
Penilla, who hit the post and created multiple chances in the first half, also assisted on second-half substitute Juan Agudelo’s goal with a sumptuous left-footed cross. It was a performance that underlined why the Revs have been so high on the 26-year-old Ecuadoran.
“Cristian’s been a really, really good player,” said Caldwell. “His attitude has been awesome from get-go, and he’s performed on the field so far, and I know he has even more to show you guys. He’s definitely been a bright spot and he’s done very well.”
