Carles Gil put on a show Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium, recording three assists in a 3-2 win as the Eastern Conference-leading New England Revolution staved off a second-half rally from the New York Red Bulls to claim their fifth straight victory.
Gil got New England rolling in the 26th minute, sending Tajon Buchanan clear on goalkeeper Carlos Coronel with a left-footed scoop pass that cut out several RBNY defenders. The Canadian winger made no mistake, volleying home for the 1-0 lead.
New England’s captain dished out his second helper in the 32nd minute, finding left back DeJuan Jones’ darting run behind RBNY right back Kyle Duncan. Jones cut onto his right foot and picked out the near side, giving the Revolution a 2-0 advantage.
Gustavo Bou then earned New England some breathing room following the halftime break, netting in the 51st minute after collecting a clearance that stood as Gil’s third assist. The Argentine striker had plenty of work to do, sprinting from inside his own half before beating Coronel with an outside-of-the-foot finish that sent the Revolution to 3-0.
But the Red Bulls didn’t fade away, and Patryk Klimala made it 3-1 by depositing his first MLS goal in the 53rd minute. Left back John Tolkin pinged in service to Fabio, who chested the ball down for his strike partner to slot under Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner.
New York’s comeback attempts continued in the 75th minute when Andres Reyes rifled home a right-footed shot that halved the visitor's deficit to 3-2. New England couldn’t clear a corner kick, and the Colombian center back cleaned up a third-ditch effort.
The game would have assumed a different tone if RBNY midfielder Dru Yearwood’s 12th-minute curler dipped under the crossbar. But his right-footed effort struck the woodwork after a mistimed slide tackle from Revolution right back Brandon Bye, affording the hosts a let-off.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: For the second time in four games, New England grabbed three points at home against the Red Bulls. These Eastern Conference foes met back on May 22, with Bruce Arena's team taking a 3-1 win from Gerhard Struber's side. The Red Bulls applied enough pressure to draw level, though perhaps showed signs of missing midfielders Caden Clark (appendectomy) and Cristian Casseres Jr. (Copa America). Then again, New England are pushing for the early Supporters' Shield lead and managed to gut out the result while moving to six games unbeaten.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Carles Gil applied the perfect weight on his early setup for Tajon Buchanan, a quick-strike attack that signaled what awaited.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Is there really another choice? Carles Gil now has a league-leading 10 assists and nearly matched Ante Razov's single-game assist record (4) from a September 2000 game between the Chicago Fire and New England. Gil has five assists across the Revs' last two games and is on track for 34 assists this year, which would surpass Carlos Valderrama's single-season record (26) from the Tampa Bay Mutiny's 2000 campaign.
Next Up
- NE: Sunday, June 27 at FC Dallas | 9 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
- RBNY: Sunday, June 27 at Atlanta United | 3:30 pm ET (MLS LIVE on ESPN+)
