In a battle of two teams starved for wins of late, the New England Revolution tasted victory with a 2-0 result over Orlando City SC at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.
The win was New England's first since September 5, but they have won just twice in their last 15 games. Meanwhile, the misery continues for Orlando, as their winless run stretches to 12 games, and they now have won once in 22 matches. New England had been battling for a late rally at an Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs spot, but their hopes were dashed before kickoff as D.C. United's win earlier in the day eliminated them from postseason contention.
New England thought they opened the scoring after a spirited 20 minutes, but Teal Bunbury's deflected strike bounced off the post and trickled in front of the goal mouth before heading away from goal.
The first goal came a few minutes into the second half, as Cristian Penilla stroked a shot from just outside the box, through traffic, that beat Orlando goalkeeper Adam Grinwis. Four minutes later, they doubled the lead through Diego Fagundez, as he poked home a waist-high cross.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Both teams were missing key contributors, but New England had a stronger group coming in and it showed, as they posted over 60 percent possession and dominated the run of play. Orlando matched a league record for goals allowed in a season, with 70, so that tells much of how the game went, and the season has gone overall.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: In a game where the action was active and positive on New England's part, Penilla's goal was the breakthrough that they deserved.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Penilla has been a welcome addition to the Revolution this season, and his 12th goal of the campaign delivered the win and made him top scorer for the club in league play.
Next Up
- NE: Thursday, October 18 at Real Salt Lake (9 pm ET | TV & streaming info)
- ORL: Wednesday, October 17 vs. Seattle Sounders (7:30 pm ET | TV & streaming info)
